CMBlack: Heart of a Lion
by Vindicated Soldiers
Summary: Courage and bravery are always needed, but not always shared in her household. When Cassy begins Hogwarts, it comes as a surprise where she ends up. Content to let things lie, she makes friends that would make her ancestors roll in their graves. Then again, Cassy Black was never afraid of a little controversy.
1. Prologue

C. M. Black: Heart of a Lion

**Prologue**

After being quickly ushered into the living room, Sirius turned to greet his friends. James had his back to him, busy bolting the front door shut with one hand and waving his wand over it with the other. Lily, however, came sweeping out of the kitchen, eyes trained on the bundle of blue Sirius held in his arms. She looked up at him before smiling.

'So,' she began, but never finished, instead looking at him expectantly.

Sirius sighed heavily, as if moving the child was a great task before putting her down on the wooden floor. The child looked up at him and moved backwards to stand by his side, a little farther from Lily.

Having knelt down to the child's height, Lily spoke. 'I'm Lily. Who might you be?' The child hesitated for a moment before answering.

'Cass-Cass,'

'That's adorable,' Lily beamed as she stood up. 'Harry calls himself "Ha'ee" at the moment.'

Despite having been best friends with Sirius for nearly ten years, James, nor his wife Lily, had seen the girl before. Cassiopeia – Cassy, as Sirius insisted upon calling her – had a keen resemblance to her farther, only her eyes were a bright blue, instead of his pale grey.

Cassy peered around with a curios gaze, pausing at each photograph that stopped to wave at her. Hesitantly, she raised a small hand and scrunched her fingers in a slow and awkward wave at the photograph of an elderly woman. The woman beamed at her as a man with glasses joined her in her frame, also smiling.

James and Sirius moved to take a seat on the sofa, while Lily disappeared back through the same door she had appeared. Sirius allowed himself to sink into the dark fabric, resting his head back and closing his eyes. He had not seen the Potters in several months, they had exchanged many letters in the meantime, but he had missed being able to converse freely. He let out another sigh before turning his grey eyes to James, who was looking straight back at him.

'You look terrible, mate.'

'Cheers,' Sirius snorted, moving into a sitting position.

'Seriously, you look ill. How are you holding up?'

Sirius frowned slightly, feeling the conversation should be occurring the other way around, but shrugged none the less.

'I've been better. I'm just... a little stressed, I suppose.' He ran a hand though his long, black hair. 'It takes some... adjustment.'

James said nothing for a moment before clapping a hand on his friend's shoulder.

'You'll get there. She seems like a good kid.'

They both turned to look at Cassy. She remained exactly where Sirius had left her, but her head was turned towards the kitchen door as if watching something. At eighteen-months-old, she was rather small, but James would wager she could easily push down his son, Harry. She had shoulder-length, thick black hair, pale skin and oversized eyes. In her arms, Cassy held a stuffed bear, worn and limp having had been squeezed too many times to retain much stuffing in its stomach.

'She never really puts it down,' Sirius said suddenly, thinking of the bear. 'I think she got it from Tess, or it belonged to Janie, something like that. She takes it everywhere and if I touch it she stares at me until I put it down again,' James grinned while Sirius whined. 'I'm constantly watched.'

'Harry likes to appear suddenly. You turn around and he's there. I thought kids were supposed to be noisy!'

'Cassy-' Cassy's head suddenly twisted towards them at the sound of her name, 'is usually quiet, luckily. But she sequelsif I turn into Padfoot, so, so loud.'

'Paddy?' Cassy suddenly piped up, wide eyed.

'No, not now,'

'Why?' She frowned.

James snorted and Sirius lightly punched his arm.

'Wait until Harry can answer back. I'm sure it will be hilarious.'

'Nah, Harry's too happy for that. He's taken to clapping whenever we do magic now.'

Sirius smiled at the thought, having missed his godson immensely. He was about to reply when Cassy barrelled into his legs, one hand moving from her bear to grasp at the fabric of his trousers. He looked up to see Harry, who had entered at some speed, standing where Cassy had been. Lily was close behind and clicked her tongue playfully at her son.

'Talk of the devil,' James laughed.

'That's just Harry,' Sirius said, placing a hand on her head. Cassy did not appear to be reassured and kept a firm hold on him. Harry, however, had moved on from his initial interest in Cassy and instead cheerfully babbled to Sirius and waved from where he stood.

'That's Cassy, Ca-see,' Lily pointed, kneeling next to Harry and speaking slowly. 'Ca-see.'

'Ca'!'

'Isn't that what he uses for cat?' Sirius asked quietly and James nodded.

'And car,' he added before nodding to Cassy. 'Is she shy?'

'Not usually. Although, I haven't had her around many people lately... Maybe he scared her because he charged at her. Too forward, like all Potter men,' He shook his head, sighing deeply and mumbling about 'no tact'.

'Oy!' James protested. 'I do not scare women off! How could I?' He gestured to himself with wiggling eyebrows. Lily scoffed quietly and rolled her eyes, giving Sirius a look he returned with equal enthusiasm, much to James' protest. 'Don't come into my house and gang up on me!'

'Anyway, how are things, Sirius?' Lily asked, ignoring James completely.

'All right. It's a bit odd, you know. Some mornings I wake up and don't realise she's even there. It still seems... surreal,' he hesitated and looked down at Cassy. 'Still, at least I got her.'

'It'll get easier, you just have to get used to it.'

'It's been two months and it hasn't got any easier.' James and Lily watched him carefully as he retracted his hand from Cassy's head.

With dark rings around his eyes and shoulders sagging, Sirius had aged ten years in the span of four months. The trial had taken a toll on him, potentially even more so than the news of Janie's pregnancy had, James realised. He wished more than ever that he could have been there. He wished he could have supported his friend freely, but the circumstances had pushed them apart and Sirius had had little time to recall the entire story to James.

'It looks like you're doing a great job, Pads,' James smiled encouragingly, but it was missed as Sirius was looking down at his lap. 'I know you don't think you're capable of being a dad-'

'Because I'm not,' Sirius interjected.

'But you are. Cassy obviously trusts you, she looks healthy and alert. There's nothing to worry about.'

Sirius shook his head lightly. He opened his mouth several times before closing it and leaning forward to place his head in his hands. 'I'd never even really considered having children,' he mumbled into them, 'yet here I am. When Janie said she was... I just... freaked. She tried to get us back together, telling me how wonderful this was. She even have her a ridiculous star name thinking it would bring us closer, continue the tradition or something... Now I wonder if I had stayed... if I had... then maybe things wouldn't be like this.

'Anyway, this isn't about me. You two are the ones who are really in trouble, you shouldn't have to worry about my stupid mistake-'

'Sirius Black,' Lily said sternly, 'this is not your fault. She lied and she hurt you. She was afraid and... And _traumatised _by what she had seen... things would have lead to the same conclusion regardless of whether you stayed or not.'

'You don't know that! She only cracked because I left, she was scared and-'

'And became obsessed with your daughter. She wouldn't let anyone see her, not even her grandparents! She needs help, Sirius, and that's what she's going to get. She would have had you both caged. Cassy's better off with you than anyone else.' James said, leaning closer to his best friend. There were another few moments of silence before Sirius sighed.

'Phil and Tess would have been better choices.'

'They might have been,' Sirius felt a pang in his chest, 'but they're Muggles. There is no way the Ministry would ever let them have custody of her. There was a big enough fuss when they heard you were dating one. Can you imagine the outrage that would come from letting the heir of the Black family's daughter live with Muggles? Especially when you're still alive. Hell, they might have even tried to give her to your mother as a last resort.

Sirius looked up and scowled at James. His mother had never been the most affectionate of people, barely caring for her own sons let alone someone else's child. He could not imagine giving Cassy to her. He had received a Howler from her the moment the Daily Profit had reported the rumour that he may be dating a Muggle woman. The letter tore itself open, Walgurga's shrill voice screamed at him, threatening to blast some sense into him, cursing the 'filthy-blood traitors' and their 'bad habits' having lead her son further astray. He had not heard from her since then.

Sirius ran a hand through his hair. 'They're not even supposed to have visiting rights really. If I choose, I can leave her with them for up to twelve hours, but that's all. She's not supposed to spend more than four hours than Janie a month. None until she shows "significant improvement".'

' I know this isn't ideal, Sirius, but she's here now. You're all that she has. Plus, you're great with Harry, I've seen it. Honestly, I don't think you have anything to worry about.'

Sirius blinked at Lily before grinning, 'You've gone soft, Evans.'

'Oh, shut-up, Black!' she playfully bit back.

There was a cry and the three turned, startled. Harry had moved from Lily's side and now stood beside Cassy, who also had moved to be closer to the fish tank in the corner. Cassy was holding something, her right hand in the air as Harry tried to reach for it.

'No, Harry!' she cried as he reached for it again. Cassy's superior height won and Harry let out a loud whine in protest.

'What has she got?' Sirius queried, not seeing the object clearly as it was waved around.

'Cakka!' Cassy chirped helpfully, holding it still for him to see.

'A cracker? Where in Merlin's beard did you get a cracker?' Upon closer inspection he spotted the crumbs that adorned her blue dress and quickly concluded it had been wedged between herself and the bear since they left the house.

'Do you want a cracker, Harry?' Lily asked. Harry nodded and Cassy watched for moment before returning to Sirius' side, placing the bear in his lap and digging a hand in his pocket. Sirius opened his mouth to protest, but was silenced when she suddenly withdrew with another cracker.

'Why do I have crackers in my pocket?' He mumbled, fishing his own hand in before pulling out another as well as several chocolates.

'She's well prepared,' James sniggered as the food was stuffed back into the pocket.

Returning to the fish tank, Cassy held the bear in her left hand, a cracker in her right and her own cracker carefully secured between her teeth. She handed the second cracker to Harry, who still had his attention on Cassy's own, before returning to press her face against the fish tank.

'More interested in the fish than the people. More interested in sweets than fish...' Sirius commented, significantly more relaxed than he had been. A small smile graced his face as he watched the child tapped on the glass whenever the fish slowed to a halt.

'She understands a lot,' Lily commented, smiling softly. 'She'll probably grow up to be quite intelligent.' Sirius let out a gentle huff and his smile grew to a small grin.

'She takes after me, of course.' Lily scoffed and James raised his eyebrows sceptically before Sirius lent over to smack him again. 'Don't pull that face!'

'Sure, sure. Think whatever you want, Pads. On another note, will you be free for Harry's birthday at the end of the month?'

Sirius' expression dimmed. 'I know when it is, thank you. I-It's kind of why I'm here though. About Harry... and you two...'

Pursing her lips, Lily looked to James. Sirius stuttering was never good. The man was brave and cocky and the idea of him being unnerved by something set both the Potters on edge. 'Go on,' she urged.

'You're moving to a new house in August, right?' he said slowly and they both nodded. 'I... I don't think I should be the Secret-Keeper.'

'What? What do you mean?' James squawked. He gapped freely at the dark-haired man, stumbling over half formed sentences before twisting to his wife for help. She too looked surprised, but was considerably more composed.

'Why? Has something happened?'

'Two months ago, there was that attack... there were nine Death Eaters, despite there only being five of us...Bellatrix was there and she saw me, but... she didn't try and kill me. She only sent an _Incarcerous_ at me.'

Lily gasped as Sirius looked back up to meet her gaze before side glancing at James. Silence followed, only interrupted lightly by the clicking of wooden blocks as Cassy and Harry assembled them into a large cube. James' fists tightened and Lily moved closer to him, squeezing his knee.

'You think they know it's you?' She asked quietly.

'I'm certain. I'm the obvious choice, aren't I?' Sirius said. There was another moment of silence before Sirius sighed heavily. 'You need another Secret-Keeper, one who is unsuspecting. You can use Peter. That way, if I do get captured I won't be able to be forced into revealing your hiding place because I really wouldn't know it.'

'Sirius!' James exclaimed loudly, shocking the children into knocking over their cube. 'Don't even- you can't-!'

'It's true, James. At least this way I'll be some sort of defence. If I go missing-'

'Which you won't!'

'If I go missing, you'll know Voldemort's trying to make a move. You can really ramp up the defences and-'

'I don't want to hear it!' James roared, shooting up out of his seat. 'Nothing like that is going to happen. You can't just expect me to... to accept...'

Lily and Sirius stood too, but James did not want to hear it. He turned away, one hand over his mouth and the other on his hip, he moved towards the doorway and into the kitchen. Conflicted, Lily looked pleadingly at Sirius before following James leaving Sirius alone.

'Shit,' he mumbled. This was not how he hoped it would go.

'Daddy?' came a hesitant voice. Sirius turned to the left. Both Cassy and Harry had frozen where they sat at James' shout. Cassy sat with wide eyes and her eyebrows lowered in mild fear, whereas Harry's face was screwed up as if he was about to cry.

'Come here,' He said as he moved towards them, arms wide to embrace them both.

Sirius hoped with all his heart the Potters listened to him. He did not know if he could live with himself if something happened to any of the three. He pulled Cassy and Harry closer to him as their tiny hands gripped the material of his dress shirt tightly. He could not lose them. Any of them.

**Right, so here we go. I've always liked the idea of Sirius having a daughter, but I've never found one that explored the characteristics that I'm going to try and do here. **

**I'm going to try and make this different, so I started off with something I believed would be true – Sirius being mortified at having a child. I just can't imagine young Sirius settling down, too young and a little disinterested (according to Rowling) in relationships on the whole. However, I've seen many were people have portrayed him as being over the moon, which is fair enough. I just don't see it.**

**I'm going to try and avoid making this note too long, but I am a nervous writer, so I may explain things here a little more than I need to at points. If there are any queries, feel free to message me, just bare in mind I won't give away all my plot devises at once. If I'm going to do this, I want to do it like a proper story so I may tell you you'll have to wait and see.**

**This stands for Cassy's family, you really will have to wait (probably for quite a while, haha).**

**Thanks!**


	2. A scarlet engine

C. M. Black: Heart of a Lion

**Chapter I: A scarlet engine**

Large, green eyes were focused on the girl at the opposite end of the room. She sat stiffly in her chair, face inclined to her food and legs swinging gently. With her fork, she pushed the bacon away before pulling it back again and nudging more beans off the edge of the plate. Kitsy frowned.

'Is something wrong with the food, Miss?' he inquired, despite knowing that was not the case. The girl looked up slowly, a small smile gracing her face.

'No, not at all. I just have something on my mind,' she replied.

'Ah,' came another voice suddenly, 'now that's no good. A Black with something on their mind always ends in mayhem.' A man entered, his hair greyed and his stature tall. With stern features and angled face, he held an air of uncompromising sensibility. Yet, as he stared down at his young charge, warmth was alight in his eyes. Alphard strode past the rosewood table, depositing a glass on the counter before sitting opposite the girl. He stared expectantly, ignoring her greeting and folded his hands together on the surface. 'Well, what is on your mind, Cassy?'

'Not a lot, Uncle,' Cassy said setting her fork down. Upon seeing Alphard's face she elaborated, 'Nothing that I cannot handle myself.'

'Ah, but I did not ask if you needed help. I simply want to know what it is that you are thinking.'

Pausing for a moment, Cassy gathered herself and looked up.

'If I am not in Slytherin will you be disappointed?'

'No,' he replied. 'You would not be the first Black to be in another house. It would not surprise me if you were to be a Ravenclaw, perhaps a Gryffindor if you are feeling particularly stupid tonight.'

Cassy smiled broadly at him before plucking the newspaper from beside Alphard and unfolding it.

'I never have stupid moments; I just have differing levels of brilliance.'

'Don't use that one on me. I remember saying that to you,' he scoffed playfully as he moved to take the paper from her. Swivelling on her chair, Cassy avoided him and began reading the headline of the Daily Profit. 'I thought with you sulking I might actually be able to read my paper with my tea this morning.'

'I read these more than you do, Uncle. And I do not sulk.'

Alphard moved quickly to swipe the paper from his great-nieces hands. Every morning she would insist on reading the paper only to quiz him on it later. Policy, position or meaning, there was at least a dozen questions Cassy wanted answered before Alphard was allowed to leave for work. Then she would often re-read it, just to make sure she had not missed anything. If she had, Alphard's books would usually be strewn across the floor of the library as she looked for the answers herself. With Cassy's departure time looming ever closer, he did not want the distraction this morning.

'You wish to know too much, Child. Eat, we shall be leaving soon.'

'It's cold. I'll eat on the train.' She patted one of the pockets of her navy dress.

'It's cold because you watched it for half an hour.'

'Twenty-three minutes.'

There was a sudden and heavy knock at the door. Sensing her chance, Cassy slipped from the table and darted down the hall before Kitsy could be sent. She slowed when she knew it was too late for her uncle to recall her and began unlatching the various bolts that had been installed several years previous. Although virtually useless against any wizard, competent or not, they had proved sufficient in keeping in curious children who had figured out how to bypass any alarm charms that may have been placed on the door. Until Cassy turned nine, in which she was then tall enough to reach the top lock with the aid of a stool. After using an improvised prop to pull the highest bolt down, she opened the door to reveal a pink-cheeked man.

'Good morning, Mr. Hollinghurst,' Cassy greeted.

'Ah, Cassy. Good morning. Is Alphard about? I need a word,' he said, peering easily over the top of Cassy's head and into the house. 'Alphard!' Hollinghurst pushed past Cassy and bustled down the hall as soon as Alphard's head appeared in the doorway.

Frowning, Cassy closed the door. She did not lock it, assuming her uncle would soon usher the large man out again and caught his eye. Nodding, she turned to ascend the stairs, but was only three steps up before Hollinghurst stopped her.

'Terribly sorry, Alphard,' he said, 'but you need to come into the office today. Well, now really.' He watched as Alphard's expression darkened slightly and began to blither. 'You know this isn't my decision, you know I think you work hard- too much, you work much too much for someone like yourself, oh... ah – I mean-'

'I have things to attend to today, Matthew,' Alphard responded with a flat drawl.

'Ah, yes, but this is rather important... Clark really wants you in now-'

'Then Clark can want. I have more important things to attend to at this moment and frankly you being here is getting in the way of them.' Hollinghurst's cheeks turned redder. 'Tell Clark I will be in at eleven.' Alphard moved around the portly man.

'A-and what would that important thing be, if you don't mind be asking?' Hollinghurst inquired as he twisted to keep Alphard in his vision. Cassy's brows twitched down briefly as she heard him.

What good is asking if he minds if you already asked? She thought.

Again, she only got a few steps up before Hollinghurst began speaking again, but this time it was, much to Cassy's distaste, aimed at her. 'Eleven already!' he marvelled. 'How the young grow too quickly-'

'I've been eleven for ten months,' she said blandly.

Alphard sent her a warning look from over the other man's shoulder, but Hollinghurst had not heard her and was instead staring fondly at the patterned wall. Wishing to excuse herself, Cassy loudly bid him a good day without waiting for him to come around on his own.

'O-oh, oh, yes. Have fun at Hogwarts. I know I did!'

Moving before she could be delayed again, Cassy was up the stairs and down the landing with impressive speed. Her bedroom was large, but had very little free space. The picture rail had been extended out to create extra shelving for books and the window sill was cluttered with plants. The walls were either hidden behind tall, dark furniture, or littered with paintings and photographs. Already satisfied she had not forgotten anything, Cassy moved towards the full sized mirror fixed on the wall. She stared for a moment and then began smoothing out the creases in her dress and readjusting her plait. It was not done for vanities sake; so much as Cassy had little else to do with all her favourite things packed in her trunk by the door.

Although she could grab one of her many books, she doubted the amusement from reading would be worth the effort climbing to get it at this moment. Instead, she gathered her trunk and empty owl cage and dragged them down the landing to the top of the stairs to hopefully pester her uncle.

With only the low ticking of the grandfather clock emitting from the living room, Cassy knew Hollinghurst had left. She called out to Alphard and abandoned her belongings as she moved to where she heard him tut downstairs. He was back in the kitchen-diner.

'There is no need to shout,' he said as she entered.

'We don't have company, it's fine,' she said as she swiped the paper again and sat in the same seat she had earlier. Alphard's grey eyes peered at her from over the top of the letter he held. 'You said "you may act like a barbarian in your own home, when only the paintings and furniture can judge you. Otherwise, you must act like a civilised human being". Which I am and which I do.'

Alphard sighed. 'I have said that so many times it must be engraved on your memory, although I only recall telling you it personally just once.' He took a sip of his tea and flipped to the back side of the parchment.

'Is it from work?' Cassy asked as she turned the page.

'It is from Cygnus. It seems he and Lucretia have been bickering again. He also says that if you are in any house other than Slytherin he does not want to know.'

'Wonderful,' Cassy sighed. The uncomfortable churning she had felt earlier had returned.

'However, given that you only see him once or twice a year; I do not see how you making a different house would affect his judgement anyway.' She looked up and smiled slightly at her uncle. He kept an indifferent face as he folded the letter back into the envelope without looking at her. There was a moments silence as Alphard finished his tea before he looked towards the clock. 'The train does not depart for another thirty-five minuets, but you need to get a good compartment.'

'In the middle of the train,' Cassy recited, 'not too near the Prefects at the front and far enough away from the rowdy upper years.'

Alphard nodded and the pair pushed back their chairs. Cassy's trunk and owl cage, which her Great Grey Owl was visibly reluctant to get into before they left, remained at the top of the stairs as Alphard summoned Kitsy.

The house-elf looked appeared with a faint crack, bowing deeply. 'Kitsy shall bring Miss' luggage to the platform! Kitsy knows were yous will be.'

There was a loud squeak from the landing and a smaller elf popped her head out over the railings. She had dusty green skin and saucer sized brown eyes that looked down at the three, watering slightly. She let out another whine and ducked down, unaware she was still visible between the spindles.

'Plum?' Cassy asked. 'What is the matter?' The young elf sniffed loudly.

'M-miss is-s leav-ving. Plum will miss her v-very m-much!' She cried, covering her face with her hands.

'Oh Plum, you can always visit and I'll be back at Christmas.'

The words did nothing to quell the crying. Kitsy signed and shifted awkwardly, while Cassy and Alphard shared a silent conversation. Alphard relented, informing Plum she could go as far as the platform with them if she agreed to take the owl. This did not stop the tears either – in fact, they became more uncontrollable as Plum was both distraught and joyous at once.

She bowed, staggering over the owl cage while Kitsy climbed the stairs to grab the trunk. Alphard then raised his arm, Cassy took his wrist and relaxed her shoulders. There was a familiar pulling sensation at her navel and the two disapparated.

They repapered in a park, surrounded by trees – remote enough to avoid detection, but open enough not a arouse suspicion.

Cassy let go and Alphard set about straightening his long jacket. 'So, no puking today?'

'No,' she frowned, 'I have not been sick for a long time.'

'Yes, yes. Do not get upset,' he said as he beckoned her to follow. They moved quickly. Following the road straight ahead, they entered the station, pushing past the hoards of Muggles that occupied a vast majority of the building. On one of the towering stone pillars, a clock was fastened, reading ten-thirty five. It was later than Alphard had wished to arrive, but the train did not leave until eleven, giving them plenty of time to navigate the thickening crowd. When they finally halted, it was in front of a large stone pillar that stood as the boundary for two platforms – nine and ten.

Alphard looked down at his great-niece, seeing no fear. Instead, her eyes were slightly narrowed, shoulders straight and head held high. His lips twitched up and he places a hand on her upper back.

'Run or fast walk?' he asked, dipping down speak in her ear.

'Fast walk,' she said.

Nodding, Alphard gave her a little push to start her off. They marched directly at the wall, appearing to collide before disappearing all together. They had gone through a barrier, only known to wizards, which opened for only an hour six times a year. On the other side was a long, scarlet steam engine, stationed next to a crowded platform. Thickening plumes of smoke drifted upwards, yet it was more for show than a result of any practical reason. The train, like most things in Magic-Britain, was powered by magic and had been done so since 1954. However, it added a certain charm to the departure and eased the minds of concerned parents sending their Muggle-born child away for the first time.

The platform was already rather full, despite arriving early -particularly by Wizarding standards, they preferred to leave as little time a possible. Alphard warned her that come ten-to-eleven, it would be packed with people trying to pile their children into compartments before the train left without them. Madness, he most described it as.

Pushing passed a large group of teens, both Blacks stopped next to a iron-cast bench at the far side. Waiting was Kitsy and Plum, trunk and owl stacked against the wall. 'Master and Miss!' they said simultaneously bowing.

Cassy craned around. 'I cannot see them, Uncle. They may be late, or perhaps are already on the train.'

'I cannot see Narcissa being persuaded to leave just yet,' Alphard said as he too look across the station. 'We should get you a compartment at any rate.' Cassy said her good-byes to the elves; Kitsy bowed and wished her luck, while Plum began to sniff. Before the elf began to really cry, Alphard grabbed the handle of the black, leather trunk and began dragging it towards the train. Cassy quickly picked up Crin's cage and jogged to catch up, leaving the two.

Alphard peered in the windows for an empty compartment, spotting one quickly in the upper-middle of the train, opposite to the side they were currently nearest. 'Here,' he said, hauling the trunk up the step and bypassing all the students easily. Cassy, although lithe, could not find the same speed or authority in her small frame and so spent several more moments excusing herself as she passed and avoided oncoming students. She poked her head inside the compartment. Alphard levitated the trunk onto the luggage rack above the seats before wedging Crin's cage up there with it. 'There, this should be fine.'

Neither said anything for a time. Alphard stared hard at Cassy for a moment, before clapping a hand on her shoulder. In turn, she tore her gaze from the window and peered up curiously.

'Whatever happens,' he said firmly, 'do try and make some friends.'

'I'll try.'

'I mean try, Cassiopeia. It's a learning experience in itself.'

'I know,' she said, eyebrows twitching down slightly, 'I'll try not to just concentrate on my studies.'

'Just do not slack, either. Merlin knows it would be a waste.' Cassy smiled and Alphard gave her shoulder a squeeze. 'Remember to write. I will see you at Christmas.' With a last look, Alphard left the compartment and disappeared through a door on the opposite side of the train.

Cassy sat down nearest the window for a moment before standing again. She hopped onto the seat, grabbing the luggage rack quickly to stabilise herself, before unlocking her trunk. The height of the roof restricted how far it could open and Cassy had to fish a thin arm in and feel around. Knowing she had placed them on the left, she dug deep and latched into the first book that she touched. Pulling back, she dropped Weird Wizarding Dilemmas and Their Solutions onto the seat below before relocking the trunk.

She stepped off and resumed her seat by the window. With the book in her lap, it did not take long for the train to depart. On the sound of the whistle, Cassy leant across and slid the door shut. It seemed as if nobody would be joining her for the journey.

Just as quickly, the scenery had changed from the concrete buildings of London to the flowering fields of the country. Fields were filled with cows and sheep and a small river ran along the track for half a mile before disappearing to a thick growth of tress. Cassy watched for a while, intent on spotting all of the Muggle things that passed. So far, she had counted six electrical pylons and a tractor in the field over. Although, she did not know the exact name or function for either of these. She was so enthralled, the knock on the door at twelve o'clock scared her and she visibly jumped as a large, dimpled woman slid open the door.

'Sorry, dear,' she chucked, smiling warmly, 'I didn't mean to scare you. Anything off the trolley?'

Cassy breathed in deeply, but smiled at the woman none-the-less. She went into the corridor, picking out several chocolate frogs, liquorice wands, popping pastels and an array of other high-sugar confectioneries. She picked several silver pieces from her dress pocket and then returned to her seat, depositing the sweets beside her. Popping several crackling crickets into her mouth, she resumed her book.

She was nearly a third through the book when she paused to pull out a chain from beneath her dress. On the end hung a golden locket, she flipped it open and read the small clock-face inside. It would be about two hours until they reached Hogwarts, if she remembered correctly. Pulling down the blinds on both the window and door, not that the window really mattered because nobody would be able to see in with the train moving so fast, she pulled her uniform from her luggage and changed quickly. The cloak was left folded beside her. It was far too warm to have it on, she decided.

Just as she had pulled up the blinds on both the window and door and sat back down, a round face appeared. The boy looked in nervously, looking back up the corridor and then at Cassy again. He knocked awkwardly, noticing Cassy was already staring. Once she nodded, he pulled open the compartment door.

'Sorry,' he said mournfully, 'but have you seen a toad?'

'I'm sorry,' she replied, shaking her head. Seeing the boy's face drop further, she spoke again. 'Where did you lose him?'

'I don't know. I couldn't find him when I was on the platform. My compartment's all the way near the front of the train and nobody has seen him!' Cassy wanted to raise her eyebrows, knowing that if the boy had lost his pet on the platform, it was unlikely he would ever find it. She did not; instead opting to smile in what she hoped looked encouragingly.

'Do you lose him often?'

'Yeah,' he sniffed. 'All the time.'

'Then that is not such a bad sign. If he has found his way back to you many times before, he will probably do the same today.' He cheered up visibly and offered a watery smile in return.

'Do you think so?' A bushy haired girl had appeared beside the boy as he spoke. 'Gran says a similar thing. She always moans when I lose him though...'

'As long as you don't summon him, I'm sure he'll turn up exactly as you left him,' Cassy said. She did not know what else to say to the boy and he did not appear to be leaving any time soon. However, it was the girl that spoke next.

'What do you mean "as long as you don't summon him"?' She spoke tartly, hands rising to her hips. 'I would think that would be dead useful.'

'Ah,' Cassy began, realising the girl must be Muggle-born. The boy appeared to know what she meant as his smile widened slightly as she said it. 'Well, summoning charms will always try and use the shortest route. So objects you summon keep moving in that direction until they collide with something, then they will change direction. If it was something living, chances are it would be dead before it got to you.'

'Really?' she asked, her eyebrows having shot up. 'I didn't know that. I'm Hermione, by the way.'

'Neville,' the boy said.

Cassy noticed the lack of surnames. Feeling no desire to add her own, she simply introduced herself as "Cassy". Neither appeared to protest.

'Were you raised in the Magic-World? I'm Muggle-born, you see. I've only known since last September when I got my letter. I was ever so surprised. Though, it explained a few things really. What year do you learn summoning spells? They weren't in any of the books. I've read all my books – learnt them all off by heart, actually. I'm ever so pleased to be here. The curriculum is terribly interesting. Still, there is so much to learn!' Hermione spoke very quickly and was unable to keep a straight face as she did, so her expression changed ever other second. Cassy blinked and Neville looked visibly sick.

'It's more advanced. I don't know exactly what year, but it will not be for a few. I was told it relies on strong intent and precise control. So... third year or above, I should think. And yes, I've been around magic all of my life.' Cassy said. Hermione nodded slowly, satisfied with the response.

'You've learnt them all off by heart?' Neville muttered after a moment, unable to get past it. 'I bet you'll be a Ravenclaw.'

Hermione let out a hum and frowned slightly. 'Well, I wouldn't mind Ravenclaw, but Gryffindor sounds like the best house. I really do hope I'm there. The headmaster was there, you know?'

'My parents were in Gryffindor. I'll probably be in Hufflepuff though...' Neville deflated again. Although not wanting to comment in front of the two potential Gryffindors, Cassy felt compelled to as Hermione looked at her expectantly.

'I will be content with whatever house I am in. I would not like to bet on where I end up,' Cassy said to avoid saying she would most likely be in Slytherin like a majority of her relatives.

The other two considered this for a moment. Neville accepted it readily, but Hermione looked doubtful. Whether it was towards Cassy really thinking this, or doubtful as to how someone could really have no preference – which she did to some extent – Cassy was unsure.

'Well, if you see Neville's toad, be sure to tell us. We're in compartment sixteen.' Hermione turned on her heel and left. Neville waved and scurried after her.

Cassy considered the pair as she turned back to the rolling countryside. She could definitely see the chubby, round-faced boy being a Hufflepuff. He spoke timidly and held himself poorly, yet seemed friendly enough when spoken to. Hermione, however, she wanted disparately to place in Ravenclaw, even if it was just because the girl had apparently memorised all her books. Even Cassy had not done that. She would admit she knew many of the concepts off by heart, but she could not recite the book cover to cover. Although, Hermione had come across as bossy, which could easily be attributed to either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw and Cassy could very well picture her as being very self-righteous, definitely a Gryffindor trait. She would have to wait for the sorting to truly know though and she concluded that the first two students she had met were tolerable at least.

It only took another few minutes for the door to open again. This time, however, it was a face Cassy already knew well. With white-blond hair, pale skin and sharp features, Draco was the epitome of a Malfoy.

'There you are. I thought we were supposed to meet on the platform. It got dreadfully close to eleven before mother ushered me on. We waited, you know,' he said as he sat down opposite.

'I apologise,' she replied, 'but Uncle was called into work and had to leave early. He wanted to make sure I got a compartment before he left.' Draco scoffed as he leant forward to take a chocolate frog.

'I got a compartment near the back. Right next to a group of stupid second years. You can hear them screaming through the walls. A bunch of Gryffindors, I reckon.'

'You should have got here earlier,' she said simply. 'Just because they are noisy does not mean they are Gryffindors.'

'Sure it does. Stupid, rowdy and senseless- sounds like Gryffindors to me!'

'And what if I am in Gryffindor? Would that make me senseless and stupid?' Cassy watched Draco's face carefully.

'You are definitely senseless,' he conceded, 'but don't be an idiotic lion. I'll deny we're related.'

'Many of the people who would really care already know we are. Besides, we're second cousins, you can just write it off as unimportant because we're so distant.' Although meant to be light-hearted, something in her tone made Draco pause.

'You're really considering this as a possibility, aren't you?'

'I have to. There is nothing to say I won't.'

'The fact that everyone in the family has been in Slytherin?' he suggested as if it was an obvious fact. Cassy shook her head.

'That's not true.'

'I won't help you. If you become a lion, this will be it.'

'I know,' she said quietly, 'but I wouldn't have changed.'

Draco stared hard at her for a moment before sighing dramatically. 'You always complicate the simplest of things.' He scooped up several more sweets from beside Cassy as he stood. 'You're still an idiot, no matter what house you're in!' He swept around the corner and down towards the end of the train.

'Better than being like you!' Cassy called in return and she could hear him scoff in response.

Cassy felt the heavy feeling she had experienced the last few weeks return. Her family would not approve of her being in any other house, but Slytherin, although Cassy would wager they would respond civilly to Ravenclaw. However, she had met many of the pure-blood children of the traditional Slytherin families and had, unfortunately, found she did not enjoy their company half as much as they seemed to enjoy each other's. Plus, if the other students she had met earlier were anything to go by, the other houses were friendly enough.

Cassy sighed deeply and began to collect the remaining sweets into her arms. She knew whatever happened, she would be disappointing someone, whether it be her family or herself. With minor difficulties, she packed the sweets and her book back into her trunk, ready for when the train would stop.

Just as she pulled on her cloak, a voice rang through the train: 'We will be reaching Hogwarts within the next five minutes. Please leave all luggage on the train. It will be taken in for you.' Cassy breathed in and out deeply, closing her eyes as she did so.

The train was beginning to slow down and Cassy made her way into the corridor. She did not wish to be squashed as the students shoved each other as they all tried to exit at the same time. As soon as the train stopped, there were multiple bangs as doors were thrown open and voices quickly filled the train. Pushing the door open, she leaped over the gap between the train and the platform just in time to avoid the surge of noisy children.

'Firs' years over here! Firs' years follow me!' A voice boomed from the end of the platform. It belonged to a man of massive stature, taller than anyone Cassy had ever encountered before, with a bushy beard and small, dark eyes. 'Firs' years, c'mon!'

Cassy pushed her way over to him, huddling with many others around the gigantic man. When most of the crowd had gone, everyone followed him down a steep and narrow pathway, unable to hold more than two at a time on each step. Brambles pulled at Cassy's sleeves and more than once she had to push back low hanging branches. Looking to her right, the person beside her was not fairing much better. The pink-cheeked blonde was growing more hysterical every time her pig-tails got caught. Everybody was silent, only the occasional grunt was heard as someone struggled to free themselves.

'There yer are! Firs' sight o' Hogwarts,' the man announced as they turned bend. Several people let out a long "Ooh!" while many gasped. The castle was beautiful, with many towers and arching windows, under the sparkling sky and against a large lake, it looked twice magnificent. A chorus of whispers erupted for the first time at the sight.

'Four to a boat. No more!'

Not far off, a small fleet of boats sat at the shore. Cassy was relieved to be at the front of the group, having means to avoid awkwardly asking to sit with people she did not know. Instead, she climbed into the one closest and was soon followed by the blonde-haired girl. As the boats were filled up, they departed by themselves across the dark waters.

They approached the cliff-face and were carried through a vial of ivy that sat in front of an opening in the rock. With torches only every ten feet or so, the tunnel was dark some girls in boats father back squeaked at each sound. Soon enough, they reached a small dock and the boats directed themselves to allow the students to climb onto the shale platform. Cassy carefully exited over the front to avoid the water. When a loud splash was heard, it was evident not everyone had thought the same. A blond boy was in up to his knees and waded to shore, oblivious of all the other displeased expressions plastered on those he splashed as he leapt in.

'Oy,' the bearded-man called as he checked the boats, 'whose toad is this?' He picked the creature out.

'Trevor!' A voice Cassy recognised as Neville's cried as he rushed past to collect his toad. Cassy, despite herself, smile slightly at his joyous tone. Everyone was then directed up a narrow passageway in the cliff-side before emerging on a grassy bank, up another set of stairs and finally halting in front of a large, wooden door.

'Everyone's still 'ere? Good.' The man knocked on the door three times.

* * *

**All right, second one – how was it?**

**I hope it's not too typical or too strange. For anyone who is wondering, Alphard is a real character. It is mentioned he was blasted off the tapestry for giving money to Sirius when he ran away – so I thought it would be a good person to put her with. He would probably be one of the only ones willing, I think.**

**I hope you like it so far. **


	3. A hat of four quarters

C. M. Black: Heart of a Lion

**Chapter II: The hat of four quarters**

In a quick, fluid motion, the door opened and revealed a tall, dark-haired woman. Her face was tense and unyielding, a person with obvious authority who liked to be treated as such. Many students visibly shifted at her appearance.

'Professor McGonagall,' he greeted.

'I'll take them from here, Hagrid,' she said. She then pulled the doors open farther, revealing yet another long, stone corridor. This one however, was much wider and was brightly lit with candles, allowing the students greater room to huddle together as they walked. Still, nobody spoke, unwilling to in case it angered the stern, Scottish woman in front. The ceiling was high, far too high to see in detail, but what was very visible to all the children were the great marble staircases that lead to the upper floors. They shifted and the entire flight would move to reconnect with another landing. Consequently, the next nearest staircase to that would then move and they were unable to settle.

How curious, Cassy thought as she and many others stared upwards. Imagine trying to get to a lesson only to have the stairs move on you.

The professor clapped her hands together and drew everyone's attention. Behind her were two doors similar to the ones on the outside of the castle, leading to what Cassy assumed would be the Great Hall. Her uncle had described it as one of the largest rooms Hogwarts had. It supposedly contained five long tables, one for each of the four houses and one for the teachers. The ceiling was enchanted to reflect the sky at that precise moment and the beams above were very rarely visible. It was the heart of the school. Apparently, Cassy kept in mind, as her uncle had told her many tall tales over the years. Cassy was beginning to think he was making a hobby of it.

'Welcome to Hogwarts. I am Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and head of Gryffindor house. Now, Gryffindor is one of four houses you will be divided into. That house will be like your family for the duration of your stay at Hogwarts. You will eat with your house, have lessons with your house and you will sleep in your house dormitories.

'The four houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Once assigned to a house, you can win and lose points for this house. This will be based on both your behaviour and your appearance...' She paused allow everyone to process the information.

To her left, Cassy could see a boy trying to flatten down his unruly hair after Professor McGonagall mentioned appearance, but it remained stubborn and stuck up in every direction. Professor McGonagall's eyes trailed towards the tall, lanky boy next to the messy haired one, eyeing him critically before continuing. 'These points will be tallied and the house with the most points will be awarded the house cup. This is a great honour and I hope you all try your best to succeed. Now, I will be gone for a moment to see if they are ready for you yet. Please behave yourselves.' With that, she slipped in through a narrow gap in the door and closed it again. There was a moment of silence for whispering began again.

'I can't wait,' Hermione sounded from behind Cassy. 'Although I do hope I know enough spells. I've learnt all I could, you see...'

'It's some sort of test. Fred told me,' the lanky boy said to the messy-haired one. 'He said you had to fight a troll.' Cassy resisted scoffing.

The whispers died down, everyone was too nervous to speak any more. Only Hermione was whispering furiously to anyone who might be listening. Everyone else was staring hard at the door, waiting for Professor McGonagall to put them out of their misery. Cassy gazed around, knowing full well how they were about to get sorted.

Over to the left, there were four massive hourglasses, empty and identical. She stared for a moment, but no logical reason came to mind and she filed it to inquire about later. However, before she could take her eyes away, a faint wisp of white caught her attention. Looking closer, she realised it was a face that was gradually protruding from the stone. Its eyes swivelled towards the group and it grew until the full image of a person was visible. The ghost drifted up and over slowly.

There was a sudden stream of them from all angles. There were gaps and cries as twenty-or-so drifted through the stone structures, conversing lightly with one another.

'My dear Friar, I think we ought to give him another chance-'

'I do believe we have given him enough chances. He is giving us all a bad name...'

One ghost appeared to notice the children and stared happily before swooping down. 'First years?' he questioned as if there was another option. 'I hope many of you are in Hufflepuff. It's my old house. Very good, Hufflepuff.' Many students watched bewildered.

'Move along, now!' Professor McGonagall ordered as she repapered.

Reluctantly, the ghosts drifted through the walls. Once they were gone, Professor McGonagall addressed the students.

'We are ready for you now. So, form a line and follow me.'

Cassy found herself third in line, wedged between a tall, blonde girl and an even taller boy. The doors were soon pushed open and they were led into the Great Hall.

With a vague sense of surprise, she noticed Alphard was telling the truth. It did little to ease her really, as she found over a hundred faces staring in her direction as they filed in. Though, she supposed, she was better off than many others whose parents and guardians had upheld the tradition and not told them of the exact nature of the sorting. Alphard had not cared particularly for his one, so Cassy had known for several years exactly what she was to do.

They stopped in from of the staff table. Cassy tried her best to discretely peer around the people in front. She need not have bothered because others were openly stepping out of line to get a better view. In front the table was a little stool and upon it sat an old, battered hat Professor McGonagall had just placed there. The entire hall had redirected their attention to the hat and everyone remained in complete silence for a moment. Suddenly, the brim of the hat opened in a way reminiscent of a mouth and bellowed out:

_'Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
_  
_But don't judge on what you see,_

_I'll eat myself if you can find_

_A smarter hat than me._

_You can keep your bowlers black,_

_Your top hats sleek and tall,_

_For I'm the Hogwarts Sorting Hat_

_And I can cap them all._

_There's nothing hidden in your head_

_The Sorting Hat can't see,  
_  
_So try me on and I will tell you_

_Where you ought to be._

_You might belong in Gryffindor,_

_Where dwell the brave at heart,_

_Their daring, nerve, and chivalry_

_Set Gryffindors apart;_

_You might belong in Hufflepuff,_

_Where they are just and loyal,_

_Those patient Hufflepuffs are true_

_And unafraid of toil;_

_Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,_

_if you've a ready mind,_

_Where those of wit and learning,_

_Will always find their kind;_

_Or perhaps in Slytherin_

_You'll make your real friends,_

_Those cunning folk use any means_

_To achieve their ends._

_So put me on! Don't be afraid!_

_And don't get in a flap!_

_You're in safe hands (though I have none)_

_For I'm a Thinking Cap!'_

The hall burst to life as students and staff alike praised the hat with a hearty round of applause. Bending in the centre, it bowed four times, one for each of the tables, presumably. As it did not have legs to rotate itself, Cassy was not entirely sure. The clapping died down quickly when Professor McGonagall pulled out a scroll.

'When I call your name,' she said, moving forward, ' you are to come up and sit on the stool. This hat will sort you... Abbot, Hannah!'

The blonde girl with pig-tails from earlier shot out of line. She stumbled and threw herself down onto the stool. By the time the hat was placed on her head she was completely red-faced and several older students were snickering. She sat for several moments before the hat announced 'Hufflepuff!'

The table on the right began to applaud and the girl quickly jogged to be seated.

'Black, Cassiopeia!' Breathing deeply, Cassy stepped out of the line. She wished she could go later, when people had lost attention, rather than second out of the entire year. Gracefully sitting, Cassy allowed the hat to drop over her eyes.

'Well, well, well,' a small voice muttered in her ear, 'another Black. I was starting to think your line had vanished. Oh well, back on to the important matters – hmm, yes. Difficult... you have a brilliant mind, no doubt, sharp wit... Oh! But far too chaotic for Ravenclaw. That just won't do. No, no. Slytherin would suit you well, but that's not really what you want is it?' Cassy stiffened slightly. 'Hm, yes. Courage and determination. Stubborn and a certain disregard for yourself... yes, this will work.' The hat continued to mutter to itself for a few more seconds before shouting 'Gryffindor!'.

Both relief and dread flooded her, but she kept her expression schooled. Cassy stood up and the first thing that struck her was the subdued clapping. There were several students who clapped enthusiastically, while many who clapped politely, but there were even some who sat at stared unhappily as she approached the table. Cassy sat on the side closest to the wall, next to an excitable forth-year who beamed at her.

'Welcome to Gryffindor!' she whispered loudly. Cassy offered her a small smile and carefully avoided the gaze of a fifth-year prefect who was looking most unhappy.

The next girl was also a Hufflepuff and the house cheered merrily for receiving two members so quickly.

The next two to be called were Terry Boot and Mandy Brocklehurst who were both put into Ravenclaw. This time, the table second to the left cheered. After them was a pretty girl called Lavender Brown who became a Gryffindor. The house on the far left began to cheer and whistle, taking far longer than any other to quite down. Cassy pursed her lips, but did nothing except clap with them. Brown sat opposite to Cassy, shaking hands with the red-haired prefect as she did.

A face Cassy recognised as the youngest of the Bulstrode children sauntered up to the stall. She, like predicted, became the first Slytherin, whom, unlike the other houses, erupted in a small ripple of polite applause for their new house-mate.

'Flinch-Fletchy, Justin!' Again, Hufflepuff gained a new member.

'Finnigan, Seamus!' A sandy-haired boy went up. The hat took almost a minute to decide, instead to the quick fire announcements that Bulstrode and Flinch-Fletchy had received. In the end, he also went to Gryffindor. He sat next to Lavender and the two smiled, mutually ignoring Cassy for the time being.

'Granger, Hermione!' The brunette from the train ran up to the stool, almost snatching the hat from Professor McGonagall's hands and she rammed it on her head. There was another brief silence before the hat shouted: 'Gryffindor!'

Hermione ran over to the table beaming. She threw herself down next to Cassy, also shaking hands with the prefect. Cassy was mildly surprised at her placement.

Neville was next, taking longer than anyone else to be sorted, but the hat finally decided on Gryffindor. Neville bolted from the stool.

'Hat,' several students whispered, making their hands form triangles above their heads. Neville appeared to realise and turned scarlet before jogging back to the front. There were several laughs when he returned to the table.

Neville looked around at the students closest to him, opting not to greet the sharp-eyed prefect. He spotted Cassy on the other side of Hermione and smiled. Catching his gaze, she smiled hesitantly back.

MacDougal became a Ravenclaw and next was Draco. He swaggered to the stool, calm and confident. The hat barely touched his head before roaring, 'Slytherin!'

Draco smirked as he approached his table, but his eyes flickered to Cassy as he sat. It only lasted a moment, but the frown was visible. He was quickly obscured by the large forms of Crabbe and Goyle; Cassy turned away.

The group had become significantly smaller now, with only a dozen-or-so people left standing. Moon was another Ravenclaw, Nott and Parkinson were both Slytherins, while the twin Patil girls were separated into Ravenclaw and Gryffindor.

Cassy looked up at the staff table, instantly recognising Dumbledore in the centre with his long, white beard. The chair to his right was empty, presumably for McGonagall and on his other side sat a man with sallow skin and dark eyes.

Professor Snape taught potions and was the head of Slytherin house. Dark and aloof, he had not gathered a pleasant reputation amongst the students, nor many of the staff members. Many times it had been questioned why such a man was a teacher at all, yet he had remained here for nine-years and showed no signs of leaving. To his left sat a teacher with a large, purple turban, who was visibly shaking as he watched.

Defence against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell. New to this academic year and a coward, but the only one who would take the job, Alphard had said when it was announced in the paper. Cassy was most likely going to be better off practising by herself because the man was afraid of loud noises and so tended to skip practical work.

She looked down the staff table, assigning classes to the teachers based on either prior knowledge or guess work. After a few more names Cassy did not recognise, one called her to rapt attention.

'Potter, Harry!'

A surge of whispers broke out, some more subtle than others. The boy who stepped forward looked ill, his skin was pale white and he stumbled nervously towards the stool.

'Potter? As in _the _Harry Potter?'

'Oh, can you see his scar?'

As he sat, everyone hushed to wait with baited breath. However, his sorting was not quick. Cassy's eyes slid down the Gryffindor table, noticing people were slightly out of their seats already, prepared to leap as soon as their house name was called. There were several moments of silence and Potter's face began to change expression from worried to irritated and back again. The hat shifted.

'Gryffindor!' It suddenly announced. Said house broke into the loudest applause yet, openly whooping and whistling.

'We got Potter! We got Potter!' two identical twin boys chanted from down the table, standing and cheering with several other students.

Potter looked significantly more relaxed as he approached. He shook hands with the prefect and several others before settling down, but was forced to turn away from the smiling faces as McGonagall shouted another name.

Eventually, Dean Thomas also went to Gryffindor, sitting next to Patil, opposite Potter. Turpin became a Ravenclaw and Weasley, one of seven, Cassy believed, also became a Gryffindor.

'Excellent. Well done, Ron,' the Prefect said as Zabini went to Slytherin. Cassy assumed because of the flaming hair, the Prefect must be a Weasley as well.

With the last of them sorted, McGonagall packed the hat and stool away and the Headmaster stood. He smiled broadly at each table and opened his arms wide to welcome them. As he did so, the little stars on his sleeves fell and pooled together on the underside before drifting back into their original position.

'Welcome, new and old. Welcome to another wonderful year at Hogwarts. I would like the say a few words before we let the feast begin. So, nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak!' He clapped, causing the enchanted stars to slip again. He sat back down and students began to cheer.

What an eccentric man, Cassy thought, before helping herself to the potatoes.

'Is he... is he a bit mad?' Potter asked.

'Mad? The man's a genius! But yes... I suppose he is a bit mad,' the fifth year Weasley replied. He picked up the potato dish when Cassy was done. 'Potatoes, Harry?'

As everyone helped themselves, the conversation was quiet amongst the first years. A wisp of silver hovered behind the table.

'Oh, that does look good,' the ghost said, startling both Weasley and Potter.

'Can't you-?' Potter began, but the ghost sighed mournfully, shaking his head.

'I've been dead for nearly five hundred years. I miss eating. I don't need to, being dead and all, but one does miss the necessities of living once in a while... Anyway, I don't believe I have introduced myself. I am Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, at your service.' He bowed lowly.

'Oh!' piped up Ronald Weasley. 'I know you. You're Nearly Headless Nick.'

The ghost frowned. 'I would prefer you to call me Sir Nicholas-'

'Nearly Headless?' interrupted Finnigan. 'How can you be nearly headless?'

Sir Nicholas grit his teeth. 'Like this-' He tugged on one ear and his entire head flopped to one side. There had been blunt trauma to the neck, whatever object was used to try and decapitate Sir Nicholas had not been sharp enough to cut all the way through. Several people gasped and many of the boys just looked shocked more than horrified. Regardless, the ghost seemed pleased with their reactions and flipped his head back onto his shoulders. 'So,' be began, but many had not gotten past the surprise yet to really be listening, 'I hope you are all going to help Gryffindor win the house cup this year. It's gone to Slytherin six years in a row, now. How shameful. The Bloody Baron won't let it go – he's the Slytherin Ghost, by the way.'

At the Slytherin table, an expressionless ghost sat staring at several students who appeared to be talking to him. He did not look like he was paying the slightest bit of attention to them as they pointed out the brighter areas on his coat.

'How did he get covered in blood?' Finnigan asked curiously.

'I don't know,' Sir Nicholas sniffed. 'I never thought to ask him.' With that, he dismissed himself and Cassy was certain Finnigan had asked something she should not have. She did not suppose many would really like to talk about their death.

In a matter of seconds, the food had vanished. The golden plates were spotless and several students held their cutlery awkwardly, having lost their food mid-forkful. Then, the tables sprung back into colour as the desserts appeared. Ice-cream, cake, pies and tarts, everything was neatly mounted on serving platters all down the table. Cassy helped herself to the nearest éclair.

'This is all very exciting isn't it? In Hogwarts: A history, that the food is summoned from the kitchens. I wonder who makes it all though! This must take many people, or do you think it is all done my magic?' Hermione said to no one in particular.

'I wouldn't think it was magic,' the elder Weasley said, 'this is far too much to coordinate. Hogwarts probably employs people.'

'Yes, that makes sense. I can't wait until lessons begin-' Cassy looked to where the others sat.

'My great-uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off guard – to force some magic out of me. He once pushed me off Blackpool pier. I almost drowned... Nothing happened until I was eight. They thought I was definitely going to be a Muggle. Gran was crying, she was so pleased when I did it. You see-' Neville spoke cheerfully, pleased with the attention he was getting from those around him. Potter and Thomas watched with great interest in Neville's story and had stopped eating to listen. Weasley took the opportunity to take two more doughnuts. 'Uncle Algie hung me out the window my by ankles, he was trying to scare me into doing magic. My great-aunt Enid offered him a meringue and he dropped me! I bounced all the way down the garden. They were so pleased. Uncle Algie even brought me my toad because of it.'

Cassy paused as he spoke. Neville was awfully cheerful for someone who had been dropped out of a window. How dreadful, such an incident sounded to Cassy. Alphard would never do such a thing, she was sure of it.

'Your uncle dropped you from a window?' Hermione squawked, apparently catching the end of the conversation. 'That's awful!'

'No, it's okay,' Neville insisted. 'It helped me and I bounced. I didn't even get a scratch.' Hermione still looked appalled. Potter and Thomas looked slightly queasy at the thought of Wizarding families.

Cassy sat quietly for several moments, listening to the Weasley Prefect scold Ronald for getting jam on his chin, as well as commenting on the large, dark smudge he had across the bridge of his nose.

'Ow!' Potter exclaimed loudly, pushing his palm to his forehead.

'Are you all right, Harry?' asked the younger Weasley.

'I-I'm fine. It's nothing.' Despite his words, he looked to be in pain. Cassy couldn't see well from her seat, but Potter's eyes seemed to drift over to the staff table.

'Who is that? Talking to Professor Quirrell?' he asked. He was told it was Snape, but Potter did not stop staring.

Desserts soon disappeared too and the hall quietened to listen to the Headmaster again.

'I will leave you with a few notices, before we all retire for tonight. First years, it must be noted that the Forbidden Forest is, indeed, forbidden. Some of the older Students would do well to remember this as well.' He looked towards the Gryffindor table. 'Also, our caretaker, Mr, Filch, has asked me to remind you there is to be no wand-work in the corridors. Also, Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term for second years and above. Anyone interested should contact their house captain and Madam Hooch.

'Finally, It is imperative you listen now. The third year corridor is out of bounds to any who does not which to die a most painful death.'

There was an awkward pause and a ripple of chuckles, but those were few and far between.

'Before we all go, let's sing the school song!' Dumbledore said cheerily, but Cassy had noticed the teacher's smiles had become forced and they avoided looking at each other. Her eyes narrowed slightly. 'Everyone pick their favourite tune... and off we go!'

The hall broke out into a mess of singing. The words were obscured by all the different paces, but Cassy would distinguish the lyrics successfully because of the forth year next to her who bellowed:

'_Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts, _

_Teach us something please, _

_Whether we be old and bald _

_Or young with scabby knees, _

_Our heads could do with filling _

_With some interesting stuff, _

_For now they're bare and full of air, _

_De__ad flies and bits of fluff, _

_So teach us things worth knowing, _

_Bring back what we've forgot, _

_just do your best, we'll do the rest, _

_And learn until our brains all rot.'_

People finished at different times and in the end there were only the red-haired twins singing in a slow funeral march. Dumbledore conducted the last few lines with his wand before clapping loudly.

'Now,' he said, smiling, 'bedtime. Off you go, all of you.'

The first year Gryffindors followed behind the prefect, whom introduced himself as Percy, as he led them out of the great hall and up several of the marble staircases. They moved sluggishly and several times Percy Weasley shouted for them to hurry up. Their pace remained slow. He then led them through several corridors, under tapestries and through hidden doorways.

Cassy put her hand to her mouth to stop herself yawning as they suddenly halted.

'Peeves,' Weasley growled. Looking up, there was a floating bundle of sticks. 'Peeves! Show yourself.'

There was a loud, low sound like someone had deflated a balloon. The prefect scowled.

'Do you want me to get the Bloody Baron?'

With a pop, the poltergeist appeared. He floated cross-legged, arms folded around the walking sticks and a mop of curly hair.

'Ooh, Firsties! How fun!'

'The Baron will hear about this, Peeves. Go now or I'll make sure of it!' Weasley barked, folding his own arms. Peeves regarded him for a moment before sticking out his tongue and spluttering. He vanished and the sticks hit the ground.

At the end of the corridor was a very large woman in a pink dress.

'Password?' she said tartly.

'Caput Draconis,' Weasley answered. The portrait swung open to reveal a large, round doorway. They all filed in, too tired to push.

They entered the common room, decorated with red and gold. It had an open fire surrounded by many sofas and armchairs, as well as heavy tapestries on the walls. They did not get a good chance to look around because Weasley quickly directed them up one of two staircases.

Moving up the right spiral staircase, the four first year girls pushed open the first door to enter their dormitory. There were four, four poster beds with deep red, velvet curtains on every side. At the foot of each bed was their trunks and Cassy spotted Crin perched on the nearest window ledge.

They changed quickly into their pyjamas, using the door on the left, which turned out to be a small bathroom and each got into bed.

'I'm Lavender Brown, by the way.'

'Pavarti Patil,' the Indian girl introduced.

'Hermione Granger,' Hermione said, smiling slightly.

Cassy was not sure whether she should reply, but the three of them looked at her expectantly, despite knowing exactly who she was. 'Cassy Black,' she said.

'It's weird, you know, that you're a Gryffindor,' Patil said suddenly. 'I thought Blacks are always in Slytherin.'

'I'm just a little different then,' Cassy replied coolly. Patil and Brown frowned slightly, but Hermione looked lost. She opened her mouth to speak when Brown cut in first.

'I'm going to sleep. There are lessons in the morning.' With that she pulled the curtains around her bed closed. Patil followed suit. Hermione turned to Cassy, but she did not look back. Instead, she sighed deeply and drew her own curtains.

* * *

**How obvious was it that that was going to happen? Hahaha.**

**Anway, Black's a pretty recognised name in the Wizarding world, so I couldn't imagine it would go down too well with the older students. Muggle-borns and the younger ones might not know to I gave her a half-hearted response. **

**Thanks!**


	4. A burning irritation

C. M. Black: Heart of a Lion

**Chapter III: A burning irritation**

The first week of term flew past and Cassy found herself pleased it was already Friday. This was not because she did not enjoy her lessons, which she did seventy percent of the time, but because Friday meant she would have two whole days to wander around the castle and memorise its layout. Her main method of getting to classes depended largely on guess work, but more recently she had taken to asking the portraits. However, the difficulty in this lay in knowing which one to ask.

It had become apparent very quickly that she had lucked out on her second try. Asking Sir William Doyle for directions, or anything else that matter, was pointless. The man loved to talk about himself and was so thrilled to have a new audience he just did not stop. It was not until a woman dressed in a medic's gown three paintings over shouted instructions at her that Cassy was able to run to Charms, leaving the other portraits to deal with the man. She made it with only minutes to spare, but still arrived earlier than many first years who had ended up in the Astronomy Tower.

Another hindrance, proving to be just as frustrating as Cassy had first assumed, were the staircases. Some would change when you were on them and others refused to move at all. There were times you were forced to go up a floor simply because all the stairs leading down had moved away from you and others where you could simply not move at all. Out of all one-hundred and forty-two staircases in Hogwarts, Cassy would wager there are at least a dozen which had missing steps. Although they appeared to be there, once stepped on, the persons foot would slip straight through it. It was remembering which ones they were was the difficult part.

However, the castle walls themselves could be just as annoying when in a rush as the stairs. The doors were temperamental and would not always open, sometimes asking them politely would work and other times it would not. Cassy felt extraordinarily silly speaking to a door, especially as she had passed a group of second years once trying to open one, only to find it was a wall pretending to be a door. Other than pretending to be doors, the walls sometimes appeared to shift. A corridor that was there one day was not always there the next.

Sir Nicholas had been a great help to all of the Gryffindor first years, happily pointing them in the right direction. It was when Peeved appeared that one would know they were to be late for class that day. Two trick doors and a changed staircase later, they were already ten-minutes late.

Potter and Weasley had spoke of Filch and Mrs. Norris at dinner on the first day. All the first years had sat near one another and swapper stories, despite being in all the same classes. Finnigan and Thomas had struck up a good friendship by that evening, as had Patil and Brown. Hermione Granger was ignoring Cassy because on her unorthodox method of re-potting Fire-ferns, so they sat on either side of Neville, who looked severely uncomfortable.

Weasley told everyone about how they had been trying to force their way through a locked door -the third one they had found in half-an-hour- only for it to turn out to be a door on the third floor. Everyone listened with great interest, but was disappointed when the pair admitted they could not find out what was behind it. Mrs. Norris had found them and quickly run to fetch Filch, who did not believe them when they said they were lost and they had to be saved by Professor Quirrell, who was passing at the time. Cassy had yet to encounter Filch, but assumed she would most likely do so this weekend for being somewhere she should not be. She was not too worried though.

Professor Quirrell's class was awful. When Alphard had criticised the man on his cowardice, Cassy believed her uncle had been exaggerating, but upon meeting the man, she realised he had underplayed it. If there was ever a man afraid of his own shadow, it was Quirrell. He stuttered and flinched, shuddered at the names of dark creatures and avoided practicals all together. When asked where he got his turban, which reeked of garlic and a fainter, fowler odour, he told them he got it from an African Prince for saving them from a hoard of zombies. Cassy was not sure anyone believed this.

Transfiguration was so far the most difficult subject as only Cassy and Granger had managed to turn their matchsticks into needles. Patil's had turned silver and the end of Finnigan erupted into flames. He had gone through sixteen matches before the end of the lesson and Professor McGonagall refused to give him any more.

Cassy's favourite lesson so far was Charms. The professor was cheerful and short, needing to stand on a stack of books to see beyond his desk. Charms was very much trial and error. Everyone had great fun waving blindly for the first twenty-minuets when Professor Flitwick told them to show him what they could do. The classroom filled with loud bangs and whistles and nobody was quite sure who was doing what, but it proved to be entertaining.

Everyone had exited in high spirits which lasted all of two-minuets in their next class. The teacher of History of Magic was a ghost. Professor Binns had apparently worked in Hogwarts for seventy-six years teaching History, when one evening he fell asleep in his chair, got up to teach the next morning and failed to realise he had no physical body. Some people even speculated he still did not know he was dead. However, being a ghost was not the issue, but rather his inability to teach.

Professor Binns droned on, never pausing and forcing the class to quickly scribble down notes. He also had an unfortunate tendency to get names mixed up. They had a lot of extra reading to do that evening.

As Friday rolled around, every ones spirits had taken a dive. The first lesson was Potions with the Slytherins, which, to Cassy, did not seem that bad. It was largely due to rumours concerning Professor Snape's bias behaviour and unconditional hatred for Gryffindor that hampered her spirits. All in all though, she remained curious and more enthusiastic than her house-mates.

The dungeons, where Potions was held, was darker and colder than anywhere else in the castle. With no natural light, the walls were laden with torches, the light reflecting off the tall, silver suits of armour and giving the entire corridor a daunting appearance.

Unlike any other classroom, Professor Snape's was actually straightforward to find. Only some of the many corridors in the dungeons were lit and following the illuminated pathway lead directly to it. Everyone had managed to get there on time because no-one really wanted to venture down to dark corridors in Slytherin territory.

So much for Gryffindor bravery, Cassy thought as she watched the other first years file down the corridor, as far away from the walls as possible.

It was quickly and mutually decided that the classroom itself was scarier than the whole of the dungeons. It was dark with the faintest smell of iron. The shelves were filled with jars of pickled animals, old books and vials and did little to encourage the students into the room.

Like usual, Professor Snape began with a register. He hesitated at Cassy's name, looking up slowly at her before ticking her name. Her eyebrows twitched down and she could see Neville fidget at the close proximity of the teachers gaze. Professor Snape continued down the list, never pausing until he reached Potter.

'Ah, yes. Mr. Potter, our new... celebrity,' he said softly.

There were several sniggers from the Slytherins on the other side of the room and he continued his list, before stepping in front of his desk and looking critically at each student.

'Potion making might not require a wand, so you may not believe it to be magic... I do not expect you to understand the beauty of a simmering cauldron and its shimmering fumes, the liquid that seers through a person's veins, bewitching their senses and ensnaring their mind... I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory and even put a stopper in death- if you are not as big a dunderheads as I normally teach.'

Cassy blinked, surprised by the abrupt end to the intriguing speech. The students just sat there, unmoving and unsure of how to respond. The only one who made any sort of change was Granger, who had edged up against the table, leaning as far forward as she could go, eager to prove she was not a dunderhead. Even the Slytherins had not responded.

'Potter!' Professor Snape barked suddenly. 'Tell me what I would get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?'

Granger's hand shot into the air, but Potter looked stumped.

'I don't know, sir,' Potter said.

Their teacher sneered at him, ignoring Granger entirely. 'Another, Potter. Where would I find a bezoar?'

Stomach of a goat, Cassy mentally answered, but I only know that from when Great-Uncle Cygnus was in hospital... this is unfair. Had she been asked the first question, Cassy reckoned she would have looked just as silly as Potter. She was just thankful she was not asked, but she was finding Professor Snapes treatment of him slightly unnerving.

'I don't know,' Potter said again, looking irritated this time.

'Well, clearly fame isn't everything, is it?'

Cassy looked over to Draco, who, along with Crabbe and Goyle, was shaking with silenced laughter. She frowned deeply, narrowing her eyes as her cousin caught sight of her. He stared wide-eyed for a moment before they were interrupted.

'Black!' snapped Professor Snape. 'Is my lesson too boring for you?'

Cassy did not reply, instead turned to the man with cold eyes.

'Fine, what is the difference between Monkshood and Wolfbane?'

'Nothing,' she said confidently, 'besides the date of which they were named. They are the same plant and is also known as aconite.' That one was easy, she recognised. However, that was simply because she had an advantage in such an area, out of everything he could have asked her, she could not have been more pleased.

He raised an eyebrow, but Cassy could not tell whether he was pleased or surprised. 'Well,' he said, 'it appears someone is capable of opening a book before my lesson. Let's hope Miss Black continues her... hard work.'

Professor Snape snapped around, barking the answers to earlier questions and writing up a full set of instructions on the black board. Cassy decided that no inspiring speech could save this man's reputation in her mind and she relented to inwardly disliking him.

'H-how did you know that?' Neville whispered to her as she passed to collect more fangs.

'My great-uncle Alphard is a Potioneer. I go with him to Europe sometimes for seminars and expositions, so I ask him questions,' she said, smiling softly. 'Most people don't, so do try to look less worried.'

Neville had not realised his expression reflected his nervousness and turned bright pink. He quickly looked back down at his potion. Cassy moved back to Dean Thomas, who she was working with, and deposited the ingredients on the table. She began crushing the fangs with an even larger fang when there was a hissing and a green plume rose and shrouded the ceiling. Neville and Finnigan had melted their cauldron somehow and splattered everything around them. Neville was covered as his skin was quickly scorched and blistering.

'Idiotic child!' Professor Snape seethed as he strode over to inspect the damage. 'You added quills before taking it off the fire, didn't you?' Neville did not respond coherently and the Professor growled. 'Take him to the hospital wing!'

Finnigan took Neville's arm and guided him out of the room. In a passing thought, Cassy wondered if they even knew where the hospital wing was.

Professor Snape rounded on Potter, who had been working with Weasley beside Neville.

'I suppose you thought it would be funny not to tell him not to add the quills, Potter. Thought it would make you look good? Gryffindor loses a point.' Potter opened his mouth to retort, but Weasley visibly kicked him.

Neville and Finnigan had not returned by the end of the lesson. Professor Snape quickly dismissed them and everyone piled out the room as quickly as they could. Cassy hesitated. She grabbed Neville and Finnigan's bags from under their desk and exited.

Pushing past the Slytherins who still lingered in the corridor, Cassy darted up the staircase and into the entrance hall, passing the other first years. Thomas held a door open open for her as she passed, but quickly called her back.

'Are those Seamus and Neville's bags?' he said.

'I'm going to the hospital wing to give them their things. I want to see how Neville's doing.'

Thomas nodded and smiled broadly at her, asking, 'Do you mind if I tag along? Want me to hold one?' Cassy slowly handed him Finnigan's satchel.

They set off again; only after they turned three corners did Cassy think to tell him she did not know the way.

'I was hoping for the best,' she told him when he asked her why they had gone the way they had then. Thomas snorted and they continued to wander for twenty minutes before asking a most rude and unhelpful portrait. Three consecutive dead ends later and their patience was wearing thin.

'I'm starting to hate this Castle,' Thomas sighed as they walked back the way they came.

'As am I, Thomas,' Cassy said with refined exasperation.

'Call me Dean.' He smiled at her, but it fell when he realised she was not looking back. He waited for a moment and sensed she was not going to react at all. He tried again, 'Sorry, but I didn't really catch your name at the sorting. I don't think I've ever heard it before.'

'Cassiopeia,' she said, looking forward uncomfortably. 'It is the name of a star.'

Dean nodded slightly. 'That's unusual. Can I call you that then... rather than by your last name, I mean.' Cassy was visibly surprised as she blinked at him.

'If you must, you may call me Cassy. Never Cassiopeia.' Her eyes travelled upwards. 'We're near the Gryffindor common room. Look.'

Pointing one floor up, they could see the familiar turning that lead to the Fat Lady's portrait.

'We can ask someone there,' Dean said happily.

With revived energy, they entered the common room. Dean approached a third-year by the fireplace for directions. They wrote them down on a scrap of parchment they ripped from the bottom of their homework, directing then straight from the Gryffindor tower.

'Why do you need to go to the hospital wing?' Weasley piped up from a chair in the corner. The common room was quite, so everyone had heard Dean ask.

'We're going to see how Seamus and Neville are,' Dean answered and the pair turned to face them. 'You're more than welcome to join us.'

Potter looked ready to get up, but Weasley looked doubtfully at Cassy, asking suddenly: '_You _want to see them? Why?'

'Excuse me?' Cassy asked affronted. 'Why would I not?'

'Well, your family doesn't care about anyone oth-'

'That's a lie,' Cassy said icily, face tense, but controlled. Dean and Potter seemed to sense the danger bells and quickly intervened.

'I'd like to go,' said Potter, looking at Weasley meaningfully.

'Well, let's go before we miss them on the way,' Dean said and ushered everyone out the portrait hole.

Potter and Weasley chatted lightly about visiting Hagrid at three for a while, before the topic changed to Quidditch. Neither Dean nor Potter understood the game, having been raised by Muggles and Weasley was exceptionally poor in describing it. Every time he got close, he would lose focus and begin a tangent about an amazing goal the Chudley Cannons had scored last season. Cassy was the only one trying to decipher the instructions, the third-year had particularly bad penmanship, and was forced to give up three lines from the bottom. She strode down the next corner and looked left down the first turning, spotting large double doors.

'I think this is it,' she said.

'Looks like it,' said Dean, using his long legs to move easily from beside the boys to stand next to Cassy.

'Finally!' gasped Weasley.

The door was, in fact, to the hospital wing. They did not knock, seeing the door was only pushed to and let themselves in. The wing was large, about half the size of the Great Hall with ceilings just as high and thick, arching beams running horizontally from left to right across it. There were over two dozen beds, headboards pushed against either wall and at the far end was a small door leading to an adjacent room.

Finnigan sat on one of the beds, shoes off and massaging the pink spots on his skin. He looked up when they entered and grinned.

'Hey!' he called, waving them over.

The nurse glanced at them from where she was covering Neville's face in paste, but looked away when she noticed nobody was injured. She backed off and put the lid back on the jar.

'Stay here for the evening,' she told Neville, 'you might be able to go back to your dormitory tonight depending on how well your face heels.'

'Wow, you look a mess,' Weasley announced after the woman had exited through the door at the far end, most likely her office.

'Thanks,' said Neville flatly.

'What is that she put on your face?' Potter asked.

'A healing paste,' he said, dabbing away a bit with his finger. 'Madam Pomfrey said I was lucky it didn't get in my eyes.'

'Lucky? That stuff burnt through my shoes! Imagine what it would have done to your eyes,' Finnigan cried, rubbing his feet. Everyone cringed.

'We brought your bags,' said Cassy, sensing the conversation had run dry. She put Neville's down beside his bed and Dean did the same to Finnigan's.

Cassy hoisted herself onto a bed on the other side of Neville's, her legs dangling over the edge, before asking, 'So, how are you?' It was a silly question really, Cassy recognised. Neville had just had his face burnt and was covered in healing paste, but the boy brightened.

'Pomfrey said it will heal, just probably a little slow. It shouldn't scar,' Neville said, cheeks tingeing pink.

'That's lucky,' Weasley said suddenly. 'My brother Charlie got burnt by a dragon once – he works in Romania. It didn't heal well and now he has a massive scar on his back.'

There was a long silence before Cassy spoke, 'That was not reassuring in the slightest. Besides, magical flames are slightly different than an exploding potion.'

'Nobody asked you, Black.'

Cassy refrained from sneering at him.

'Ignore him, Neville,' Potter said. 'I'm sure it'll be gone before you know it.'

'Yeah, Madam Pomfrey is a great healer,' Finnigan added.

Neville's face had gone white beneath the green paste and he nodded shakily at their words.

'Charlie's scar is cool, though,' Weasley muttered, frowning at the ground. Potter discreetly smacked him.

Potter and Weasley soon excused themselves with the excuse they had to be somewhere else. Dean had taken up residency on the end of Finnigan's bed and the pair talked for the better part of twenty-minutes before Madam Pomfrey excused Finnigan and they left themselves with a wave.

There was a long silence. Cassy swung her legs gently and Neville stared at his hands, unsure of what to do or say now they were alone.

'Do things like this happen often to you?' Cassy asked finally.

'Ah, s-sometimes.'

It was evident from this first week it happened more than just 'sometimes', but the boy was clearly embarrassed. There was another pause before Neville let out a puff of air, going a deeper shade of red as he realised he sighed out loud.

'Do you not like my company? I can leave if you like.'

'N-no, no, that's not it. I mean... I don't know what to say.' He looked at her pleadingly and Cassy felt one of her eyebrows rise.

'Normally or just now?' Cassy found herself smiling as Neville began spluttering. In the end, he just let out a long "ehhh" noise and stared at the sheets. 'Always it is then.'

He looked up red-faced before quickly looking down again. Mumbling incoherently, he pulled at his black trousers. He sighed again before muttering a little louder, 'I'm... I'm just... _scared._'

'Of what?' Cassy asked, before realising what she had initiated. 'Of lessons, students, teachers... me?'

'E-everything, really. My family thought I was a Squib for so long, a-and my magic's probably really weak. I thought for sure I was going to be in Hufflepuff...P-professor Snape hates me and I'm always late to everything! And you're the only one who actually speaks to me seriously,' he cried, turning to Cassy expectantly.

'Professor Snape dislikes everyone apart from the Slytherins. Think yourself lucky that he does not hate you as much as he does Potter,' she offered blandly. Neville face regained a bit of colour regardless of her tone, but she continued: 'Would you rather I did not speak to you?'

'No, I didn't mean that... people just don't seem to like me much.'

Staring intently, enough so to make Neville squirm, Cassy replied, 'I don't know what you expect me to say. If you haven't noticed, I have not made any fast friends either. I talk to you because you are easy to talk to.'

Now Neville was staring, although mostly in shock. He had never had anyone tell him that before, while it was generally a pleasing thing to hear, he felt over-whelmed that it would come from someone from the Black family, or any notorious Slytherin brood. However, he thought as his cheeks flushed a brilliant red, Cassy did not exactly fit that bill.

'T-thanks, but still, it doesn't stop anything else I said from being true.'

She opened her mouth slowly, thinking over what she was going to say this time, 'Everyone had been late at least once.' He smiled slightly and she chose not to add on that neither her nor Granger had. 'If you did have had enough magic you would not be here, but you do deserve to be so you are. It will just take some practise. Think of Transfiguration, hardly anyone made any changes to their matches.'

Neville had visibly brightened, but still appeared unsure. He smiled slightly and Cassy offered an awkward smile back.

* * *

**I suppose this could be make or break for some people reading it. We have the introduction of Cassy's conflict with Ron. **

**Don't get me wrong, I do rather like Ron, but you have to admit, he can be a complete git. So, I can't imagine him -at least not immediately- liking Cassy. Especially when he has a tendency to say things without really understanding the implications of his words. **

**Now that you've seen it – what do you think? **

**Also, do you like that I've made her friends with Neville, rather than just dumping her into the trio? She will interact more with them, I assure you, but right now it isn't needed. I also want her to have a little wider variation in acquaintances, because people do speak to others outside of their immediate friend group. **

**Sorry if the chapter is a little mushy, but they're both awkward people and are young, everything is kind of cutesy at that age...**

**Thanks! **


	5. Swords and Scholars

C. M. Black: Heart of a Lion

**Chapter IV: Swords and Scholars  
**

Warm and bright, most students were taking advantage of the last of the summer sun. The year was quickly disappearing and autumn was rolling in as the leaves tinged yellow and the winds picked up.

As fast as it had gone, the initial week of term had been tiring for the first years with a living castle, intimidating teachers and new friends. There was not a single one, except perhaps Hermione Granger, who had not woken up ecstatic that it was Saturday. Although it was simply a matter of getting back into the swing of things for the older students, they too had flocked outside and were running rampant around the Black Lake and several groups nudging each other into the Forbidden Forest.

Cassy, however, had chosen to remain inside. She and Neville had spent their morning locating the library which turned out to be in the Training Grounds Tower on the Third Floor. It had been considerably easier to find than the Hospital Wing, because the library was below the Astronomy classroom where they had already had a lesson last Wednesday night.

The library was large, almost as large as the Great Hall and contained bookcases two or three times the height of an average person. They were arranged sporadically, creating a labyrinth with desks nestled in corners and spaces between the other furniture and wine-coloured carpet gangways down each isle.

Neville sat at one of the desks near a large, arching window, book out and quill in hand. Hesitantly, he would write five or six words, look back at the book and then begin writing again. He glanced down the short isle, but Cassy had still not returned. She had wandered off some time ago, for what Neville was not sure, and he wished she would hurry up for he was stuck again on his History homework. He leant back in his seat; sighed loudly and placed his quill back down on the desk. Staring at the books on the nearest shelf, he noticed the titles were all embossed on the spines in Latin. Not recognising any of the words, he twisted to peer at another bookcase farther down, but they too were in Latin and the one he thought might not be he did not understand regardless.

Neville stood slowly. Shuffling along towards the corner, he peeked his head out. Seeing no one, he looked to the other side.

'Auwah- Harry!' he cried, clutching his chest.

The bespectacled boy floundered, wide-eyed and alarmed. 'Neville! I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you. I just...' he trailed off, waving a hand behind him where he came from.

Neville took deep breaths. With pink-cheeks, he smiled slightly saying, 'N-no worries, Harry. I just didn't know anyone else was here.' Neville retreated back to his desk. 'I thought everyone else would be outside.'

'So did I,' Potter answered. 'What are you doing here alone?'

'Oh, I'm not alone. Cassy's just gone to look for something.'

'Cassy? Who's Cassy?'

'Cassy Black.'

'Cassy Black?'

'Yes?' a voice sounded from behind Potter. He span around and was met with large, pale blue eyes. 'I thought you would at least know my surname by now, Potter.'

Potter's cheeks flushed and he shifted.

'I know your last name,' he said, 'I just didn't know your name was Cassy. It's short for something, isn't it?'

'Yes.' Cassy had walked past him, placing a large book on the desk next to Neville's. As she remained facing away from him, Potter realised she was not going to elaborate. So did Neville, as he soon began talking again.

'We're doing homework. Why aren't you outside with Ron?'

'Oh, his brothers wanted him for something, so I came here to try and do my Transfiguration homework for Monday.'

'I'm doing History of Magic homework – trying to, at least. I'm getting confused with all the goblin names...'

Potter moved closer and took a seat next to Neville, slinging his bag under the table after pulling out a roll of parchment.

'According to Hermione, Binns got a lot of the names mixed up last lesson,' he said.

'She would be correct then,' Cassy said, turning the page in her book. 'Oddball and Braveheart were confused. I don't know who he meant when he was talking about the Fishing Laws, but it certainly was not Featherbeard who instated them.'

Potter nodded slowly, not recalling anything about the Fishing Laws at all. He looked at Neville out the corner of his eye to see the boy wearing a similar blank expression.

'You two really don't pay attention, do you?' Cassy said after a long silence.

'What?' Potter asked, dumbly.

'There were no fishing laws,' she said. 'I merely wanted to see if you really do have super keen senses while you sleep.' The corners of her lips twisted up slightly and the pair could see she was refraining from smiling. A small orange ball was passed between her fingers as the hand rose to cup her chin.

'I would have put that in my essay,' Neville groaned.

'I doubt Professor Binns would have realised it was wrong,' Cassy said, leaning towards her desk again.

Potter still looked startled, letting out a mumbled 'Of course I don't!' as he turned to his own notes, scanning them over briefly. They were an inky mess, with large blots spread randomly over parchment and his letters blurring into one at several points.

'I don't even know what this says,' he muttered after a few minutes.

Neville looked over. 'What kind of quill do you use?'

'Er-' Potter paused, 'a quill?'

'There are different types of quills. You can get one that doesn't drip.' Neville peered at Potter's work hard for several moments longer before commenting, 'I think your writings worse than mine.'

'Cheers, Neville,' Potter snorted, dropping his work back on the table.

'O-oh, no. I didn't mean... I'm sorry-'

'It's fine, I'm just not used to using quills. Bryros are so much easier. You can't smudge them.'

'Byro?' Cassy asked. 'What's a byro?'

'It's a type of pen – a thing Muggles write with.' He was not sure whether either of them knew what a pen was, given that wizards only appeared to write with quills. 'It just looks like a plastic stick.'

'Really?' Neville said interested. 'So Muggles don't write like we do?'

Potter shook his head while Neville began to rummage in his bag. He drew back, holding another quill.

'Here,' he said, passing it to Potter who twirled it around in his fingers. He looked at Neville expectantly. 'You should try that. It should stop the ink blots. Gran says I shouldn't use normal quills because I make a mess.'

Dipping it in ink, Potter began doodling on the edge of his History notes. His eyebrows rose as he noticed the lack of sudden ink surges.

'Wow, these are great.'

'You can have that one if you like. I have loads more in my trunk,' Neville smiled shyly.

Potter thanked him and they both turned to continue their respective homework when Neville remembered why he had stopped in the first place.

'Cassy, why couldn't Boneback just go to the courts about Ringjaw?'

'Blood feuds, isn't it? The authorities tended to let them sort themselves out, I thought,' Cassy answered. She pulled her notes from beside her and scanned over them. 'Yes, that's what I wrote.'

While Neville began scribbling that down, a sudden flash of colour that caught Potter's eye, forcing him to look up. The orange object was a ball, glowing brightly with a fading trail behind it, indicating where it had been. It swooped down before jerking in another direction. Cassy's fist enveloped it momentarily and then it was back in the air again.

'What is that?' Potter asked, green-eyes flitting after it.

Cassy looked at him in surprise, before following his gaze. She reached out and caught the orb again.

'A Lumio.'

'Aluminium?' he repeated dumbly.

'No,' she said in amusement, 'a Lumio. Like the spell Lumos, only ending in ee-oh, instead.'

'Right,' he said firmly, although he had not heard of that spell, 'but what is it?'

'A ball, you let it go and you catch it again.'

Potter was intrigued as she handed it over. He flicked it into the air and it lazily zigzagged upwards. Snatching it out the air, he turned to look at Cassy with a grin. She was looking at him with eyes alive with amusement, lips tugging up gently at the corners. She turned in her seat, half facing away from him, but not far enough to lose sight of him all together.

Embarrassment filled Potter's stomach, conscious he probably appeared far too amazed by a simple toy. Looking away, he threw the ball higher. It darted down, nearing the books in front of them and then back up again, the streaks slowly disappearing. It went higher and Potter stood up to grab it, but it rose higher still and before any of them had a chance to stop it, it was already over the top of the bookcases and out of sight.

Cassy rose, flattening out the wrinkles in her dotted skirt. She pushed her chair in and turned to Potter.

'I suppose I should go and find it,' she said.

'I'll help,' he said, trailing after her.

Neville chose to stay in their corner; to safe guard their belongings while the pair ventured out in the direction the Lumio had last been seen. Three turns later and they were already off course.

'I know most people call you "Black", but can I call you Cassy? It's odd calling people by their surnames,' Potter said suddenly as they turned down another isle.

Cassy blinked and turned to half-face him. She stared intently for a moment before moving on.

'I suppose,' she relented. The question took her by surprise again, not expecting Harry Potter of all people to be interested in engaging with her on a personal level.

Then again, she thought, he might not even understand what it means to call someone by their forename.

'You can call me Harry. It just reminds me of Snape when people call me Potter,' he said, ducking down and peering under a chair.

'All right. Harry it is then.'

They passed several more isles. The Lumio was nowhere to be seen and the pair were unsure whether it had landed or was still hovering. Looking to Harry with her lips pursed, she shook her head.

'You can go back and finish your homework. It will probably be a while before we find it, if we find it.'

'I'm sorry,' Harry said quietly. 'I've just never seen anything like that before; I didn't know it would fly off like it did.'

'Calm down, they're only two sickles. I've probably got a few more in my trunk anyway.' Cassy waved him off.

They then emerged into a large clearing. In the centre was a heavy, dark-stained desk and at it sat a stern looking woman with thin lips and half-moon glasses. She sat rigidly in her chair, her head was slightly inclined towards the parchment she was writing on, but her eyes flicked towards them at the first sign of movement.

They quickly ducked back out of sight, unsure whether she had seen them or not. Unwilling to make it obvious they were searching for something, they edged closer again and Harry peered around the corner.

'She's not looking,' he whispered.

'I do hope she has not got it. They're probably not allowed in the library – or anywhere else, for that matter.'

'Should we turn back then? Go another route?' Harry said, twisting the other way.

Cassy poked her head out farther, he back still pressed against the bookcase. Her eyes narrowed slightly and she turned to Harry.

'Follow my lead, I have an idea,' she said, before stepping out and crossing the open floor. Harry stumbled behind her, acutely aware of Madam Pince, the librarian, was following their movements carefully. They ascended the stairs, quickly and quietly before disappearing from her view around another corner.

'We should be able to see more of the floor from up here,' explained Cassy.

They split off in different directions across the catwalks, occasionally crossing the centre ones when they thought Madam Pince was not looking to avoid suspicion. From where Cassy currently stood, she could see Neville furiously writing away, but there was still no sign of her Lumio.

Harry rejoined her, admitting, 'I haven't seen any sign of it.'

'Neither have I,' she said.

'Sorry.'

'I've already told you not to worry. It would be nice if we could find it, but it is not a great loss if we can't. Anyway, it is my fault really; I should not have distracted you with it when you were working.'

'Oh no, I don't mind,' Harry said, brightly. 'I've never seen one before. I bet there are loads of things you have and know which I don't. Why are you pulling that face?'

'I heard that you grew up with Muggles, but it surprises me how little you know about our world,' Cassy replied, honestly.

'Why?' he asked.

'You're _Harry Potter_. Everyone knows your name and yet you grew up not knowing at all. It's just a little odd.'

'I'm just Harry,' he shrugged, causing Cassy to look at him curiously.

' "Just Harry"?' she said. 'To a lot of people, you are a lot more than "just Harry".'

'I don't feel any different than I did a month ago, just maybe happier. I still feel like me.'

Gazing a little longer, Cassy smiled easily.

'There are many Muggle things which I don't know. I believe we are even, in that respect.'

Harry grinned, 'I don't suppose you can explain Quidditch to me? Ron's a little useless with the actual rules.'

Cassy laughed softly: 'No, no. I'm not the best person for that. Sport is not my strong suit. Anything else and I'll try my best, but I'm not even going to attempt answer that. Care to explain football – is it?'

'I don't really know the rules, just that you kick a ball up and down the pitch and try to score in the opponent's goal. I never really played it myself,' Harry said, beaming. 'Anything else and I'll try my best.'

Cassy scoffed playfully and the pair began walking back down the stairs. Neville was still doing work when they returned and stated he was almost finished.

'I had to look at your essay for something, Cassy. I hope you don't mind,' he said.

'Of course not... and even if I did it would serve no purpose now, would it?'

Harry flexed his hands before picking up the quill Neville had given him, saying: 'I suppose I better finish this now. I'll probably forget otherwise.'

Again, the three sat in silence, but it was warmer and more productive than before. It only took Neville five minutes to finish his History homework, so he began working on the conclusion of his Transfiguration essay, chatting lightly with Harry as he did so.

Neville was smiling gleefully as Harry laughed, shaking his head and leaning backwards on his chair.

'- then he gave my cousin a pigs tail. It was hilarious! His face was brilliant,' Harry exclaimed, recalling a story when Neville had mentioned Professor McGonagall turning her desk into a pig. 'I can't wait to be able to do that.'

'I know, it's a shame we're not allowed to do magic outside of school until we're of age,' Neville sighed wistfully.

'Of age?'

'Yeah, you have to be seventeen. You're legally an adult then.'

'Really?' Harry asked, 'It's eighteen in the Muggle world. I think the only thing you can do at seventeen is learn to drive.'

'Drive cars and such?' Cassy piped up, leaning backwards so she could see Harry past Neville.

'You know what cars are?' Harry looked surprised.

'Of course, they're everywhere. Wizards don't tend to use them, but there are few who don't at least know that much about Muggle transport,' she replied.

He considered this for a moment before accepting it, supposing it would be hard to find an area in Britain which was completely isolated from all Muggle influences.

'Besides,' Cassy added, 'we have the Knight Bus.'

Harry opened his mouth to ask what the Knight Bus was, but never got the chance.

'Harry! There you are mate. I've been looking all over for you.'

Everyone's eyes turned to face the newcomer. Behind Harry stood Ronald Weasley, tall and lanky with fiery red hair and a blue ink streak across his jaw. Harry assumed instantly that it was probably from whatever Fred and George wanted him for, because Ronald looked disgruntled even as he turned the corner.

'Why are you in the _library_ of all places? Let's go outside.' Weasley grabbed his arm and pulled Harry from his seat.

'I was talking to Neville and Cassy,' Harry said, retracting his arm and standing still.

Weasley looked at the two as if he had only just noticed them. His eyes darkened as they met Cassy's. Scowling he said, 'You should stay away from people like her, mate. She's bad news.'

'You would know all about that, wouldn't you?' said Cassy, frowning slightly and turning her nose up. 'You look as if your face had been rubbed with a fresh newspaper.' Cassy suddenly cursed her need to antagonise Ronald. Over the past few days, they had exchanged jabs and jibes, never meeting one another's eyes without someone saying something. It seemed the more Ronald spoke, the more he irritated Cassy; the more he irritated her, the more she spoke to him and the worse their relationship became.

'Just shut up, would you? Can't you just stay away from us and mind your own business?'

Cassy did not respond, but both Neville's and Harry's faces contorted. Neville looked conflicted, his mouth opened to retort, but closed again and he looked nervously at Cassy. Harry, however, had no problem finding his voice.

'How would that be, exactly? She's my friend.'

Weasley looked indignant at Harry's announcement. He spluttered for a moment, pointing at Cassy. 'You can't be serious. She's like Malfoy, she always had snide remark and thinks she knows best.'

'She's really not,' Harry said flatly. He began gathering his belongings back into his bag.

' You don't see what I see. You don't know her properly,-'

'And I suppose you do?' Cassy interjected. Her voice was cold and sharp, eyes narrowed dangerously, but she remained in her seat. 'Go on then, show me how well you know me.'

'Your family are all Slytherins! They're all snakes-'

'I am in Gryffindor house. As far as I know, their mascot is a lion, not a serpent,' she said.

Neville watched pale faced and even Harry looked uncomfortable. Weasley turned scarlet as Cassy turned back to her book.

'Please leave, Weasley. I do not wish to continue this anymore.'

He opened his mouth to argue, but Harry caught his arm and dragged him away.

'Sorry,' Harry said as they departed, but to whom nobody was sure.

Silence filled the library and only the faint clicks of the librarian's boots could be heard as they retreated back to her desk. She had most likely risen to reprimand them for the noise.

Neville let out a quiet whine, eyes flitting over to Cassy who stared placidly into her book. He shifted in his seat, before plucking up his Gryffindor courage.

'Are you okay?'

Cassy's eyes suddenly lifted, staring at the shelves in front of her for a moment before looking at him sideways. She eventually straightened and turned to half-face him.

'Yes,' she answered, slightly put out by his question. Nobody had asked her how she felt after someone commented on her heritage. Many had since she started Hogwarts, most being Slytherins she passed, a majority of which she had met before she had entered the school, but some had been Gryffindors. It had been easy to tell at the feast which students were likely to be Muggle-borns, because they clapped the loudest. Those who were firm 'light' supporters did not clap at all. Cassy had always expected to be singled out whichever house she was in, so she never dwelt on anything they said.

'Ron was out of line, I think you're nothing like Malfoy,' Neville said.

'Thank-you,' she said, only half sincerely. 'You don't need to be concerned with what Weasley said though; he's been at it since the start of the week. He really dislikes me, but I have to say I try to give as good as I get.'

'For what reason?' Neville cried, 'I know for a fact you've been kinder to me than he has! Have you seen him and Hermione argue? He's horrible to her. At least you only retaliate.'

Cassy did not bother to tell him that she sometimes started it with a little comment or knock of her own. The look on his face told her nothing was going to change his mind and if he really saw things that way, she was not going to complain. Instead, she said, 'She's not very nice back. Besides, Granger doesn't like me very much either, which is fine.'

Truthfully, Cassy found Hermione Granger a little dull. She stuck to the rules rigidly and would never deviate from what she had read in a book. Cassy often found herself being scolded by the bushy-haired brunette for not taking enough notes or for tweaking instructions slightly during practicals. It was because of this that Cassy felt no real loss with the girl blanking her.

'Hermione's all right, she's just a little scary.'

'You think Granger is scary?' Cassy's voice was tinged with amused disbelief.

'A-a little bit.'

'But not as much as Professor Snape?'

'Definitely not as much as Professor Snape,' Neville agreed and Cassy laughed softly.

'Have you done his homework?' she said.

'Homework? I didn't know he gave any!'

'I wasn't sure if anyone told you when you returned to the dormitory yesterday.'

'No-o,' Neville groaned, slumping forward on his desk. 'What is it?'

'Everyone had to write out the methodology of the potion we did in class and state why it's important that we follow the instructions exactly.'

Neville's face dropped further, knowing the homework was aimed at him especially.

They remained in the library for another hour before returning to the Great hall for lunch. They took their seats with the other first years after Dean waved them over.

Piling his plate with beans, Neville listened intently to the ongoing conversation about magic chess, while Cassy's attention pulled in another direction.

Harry entered through the hall, Ronald Weasley by his side. They approached and Cassy lowered her head so she did not appear to be staring out-rightly at them as they sat a few feet farther up. She plucked some toast from the rack in front of Dean and turned towards Finnigan, who was protesting loudly as Patil shattered one of his pieces.

'How did I not see that?' he cried as his figures shouted abuse at him, some throwing chunks of the fallen one at him.

'Because I'm just too good at this game,' Patil said cheerfully, clapping her hands as she took another piece. Seamus groaned again and some of his pawns threatened to leave the game if he did not improve.

'Oy, you should let me play a game. I'm excellent at chess,' Weasley said.

'Yeah, yeah, let me beat Seamus first. Then I'll kick your butt,' Patil dismissed

Daring to look, Cassy peaked at Harry, only to find him staring back. His eyes widened slightly, embarrassed to be caught looking, but he smiled at her all the same.

Cassy hesitated before smiling back. She felt a light warmth engulf her, the effect of both joy and relief she had not expected to experience. For the short time she had spoke to the boy in the library, she found herself quite fond of him.

The smile lingered on her face as she returned to her plate. Picking up another piece of toast, she turned to watch the end of the chess match between Patil and Finnigan. Patil won easily and the board was pushed across the table so she could face Weasley. Cassy hoped he would lose.

However, he turned out to be as brilliant as he claimed to be. For a boy with no tact, Weasley had excellent strategic abilities, although this could be limited to chess, Cassy was not quite sure she ever wanted him to lead an army. Patil admitted defeat and the boys cheered loudly, clapping Weasley on the back. He was then roped into a game with Finnigan and offered to teach Dean the ins and outs.

Cassy excused herself, leaving Neville at the table. She stopped in the entrance hall, debating whether to go back to the library or to go outside when a hand tapped her shoulder.

'Hey,' Harry said, smiling brightly.

'Hello.'

'Going anywhere in particular?'

'No,' Cassy said, 'I'm undecided.'

'Would you like to meet Hagrid? He said he'd be treating the pumpkins today, so he should be near his hut.'

Cassy raised her eyebrows, but agreed to go with him anyway.

'What were you undecided on?' Harry asked as they walked through the double doors and onto the grounds.

'This and that,' she answered airily. 'On almost everything, really. Like what's older; the castle or the Headmaster, and whether or not Professor Snape knows how to wash.' She swung around, her ponytail swishing with her and began descending down the sloping hillside.

Harry had let out a loud laugh and ran to catch up, grinning as they walked together in the afternoon sun.

You really have surprised me, Harry Potter, thought Cassy, watching the boy stumble down the hill.

* * *

**I made Lumio's up. I thought I'd just add to what's already there and you don't see many magical toys. **

**All right, the ball is rolling on Harry and Cassy's friendship. Realistic enough or just weird? I wanted a casual way to do it and making them talk in the library would be a good start.**

**I think because of how new Harry is to the Wizarding world, he'd be drawn to things and people who know a lot, so in comes Cassy and Neville. I don't know if it's just me, but I kind of think that Harry's initial friendship with Ron is spurred on by Ron having grown up in the magical world. It's what they talk about to get to know each other and as it's still in the first week of term, I used a similar notion to bring these three together.**

**Thanks! **


	6. Take Flight

C. M. Black : Heart of a Lion

**Chapter V: Take flight**

It had become apparent over the following days that Cassy was not the only one to have enjoyed the library trip, as Harry had spent much of his time with either Cassy or Neville, when Weasley would allow it. Weasley made it difficult, having what appeared to be unconditional hatred for Cassy and found it impossible to be within ten-feet of her without commenting. He was far more receptive to Neville, but Neville had admitted he did not really like the youngest Weasley male. Ronald was simply to tactless for the shy boy to handle.

Thursday rolled around and Harry's bright mood darkened severely. He sat slumped opposite Cassy in the Great Hall, shredding the fried egg with his fork and sighing deeply.

'Great,' he grumbled. 'Out of everything, why did we have to have flying lessons with the Slytherins?'

Harry had been ecstatic about learning to fly, talking avidly to the other first year boys, as well as Ronald's older twin brothers, about it. His, like every other Gryffindor's, heart sunk when they noticed the paper pinned to the board in the common room one morning. It stated that on Thursday flying lessons would be held with the first year Slytherins and would remain so for the remainder of the sessions.

'I don't understand why they insist on placing our houses together, really. At least it is only flying and potions,' Cassy said, cutting up a sausage.

'As if you care,' Ronald snorted, his mouth filled with bacon, 'you probably feel right at home with them, don't you?'

Cassy scowled and lowly said, 'If you must speak to me, at least have the decency to do so with an empty mouth.'

Ronald opened his mouth wider and stuck out his tongue.

'Ron, that's disgusting,' Harry said. He elbowed the other boy in the ribs.

Ronald scoffed, reaching for more toast as owls began to swarm the hall. Many did not stop, instead depositing their post as they went, but two chose to descend in front of the little group.

A barn owl stopped next to Neville, holding out its leg for him to take the tiny package. As he did so, he gasped and quickly moved to show everyone his Remembrall. It was small, about the size of a large marble and filled whirling white smoke. Slowly, the smoke began to turn red and Neville's face dropped.

'What is it?' Granger asked, putting down her copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_.

Neville's face still held a downcast expression as he answered, 'A Remembrall. If it goes red, it means you've forgotten something.'

'If only they told you what you've forgotten, ay, Neville?' Finnigan joked. Neville pursed his lips in response, squeezing the ball one last time before dropping it on the table with a sigh.

'Don't worry. I'll help you check before we go to lessons, all right?' Cassy patted his back after she had untied her own package from the second owl. It was brownies from Plumb and Kitsy.

'Yeah,' Neville sighed.

The group discussion had returned to Quidditch, much to Harry's chagrin. Granger began to repeat passages from the book, bossily stating the proper way to fly. When she realised people were not listening her tone rose, by the end of her efforts, she was nearly shouting orders at them.

'I just know I'm going to make a fool of myself,' Harry said, again stabbing at his food.

'You don't know that. Loads of people have never flown before,' Ronald assured.

Neville admitted he had been kept away from a broomstick his entire life. His Grandmother just did not trust him enough

'I see why,' Harry said. 'No offence, but you're really accident prone.'

'I know,' Neville said embarrassed.

'You can't fly on a broom, but your uncle can hang you out of a window?' Cassy raised her eyebrows.

Neville and Harry's own rose and the latter laughed slightly at the idea of it.

'I'd never really thought of that, I wonder if I tell that to Gran she'll let me fly this summer...' Neville said, rolling the Rememberall across the table. Before it reached his other outstretched hand, it was snapped up from behind him.

'Ha, figured you would need one of these, Longbottom,' Draco drawled.

Harry and Ronald rose to their feet instantly, although it would have done little to help as Draco stood on the opposite side of the table.

'Draco, give it back,' Cassy said coolly. She stared at him and for a moment he stared back, looking at Neville and then to Harry before settling back on Cassy.

'What company you keep,' he mumbled in her ear as he leant down to place the ball back on the table.

Cassy said nothing and let him straighten up.

'What's going on here?' A sharp voice cut in. Professor McGonagall had spotted them from the teachers table at the front of the hall. She stood with her hands on her hips and her lips pursed, daring someone to speak out of line.

'Nothing, Professor,' Cassy said.

'I was just looking,' Draco added. He turned and walked away, once again flanked by Crabbe and Goyle.

McGonagall gave the first years a critical look and returned to the staff table. The others eyed Cassy with a similar expression.

'Why didn't you tell McGonagall? That git could have got in trouble,' Ronald seethed.

'Whatever you two-' Cassy looked between Harry and Ronald, 'did to make him dislike you this much I'm not sure of. What I do know is that if you react like you just did to him, he will only get worse.'

'An' how would you know that?' Finnigan asked.

'I've known him a long time. I can deal with his tantrums better than you can.' Cassy turned to Neville. 'Would you like to find what you've forgotten?'

With that, the first years dispersed, going their separate ways for the morning before lessons.

By half-three, the time of their first ever flying lesson, the tensions between them all had eased slightly. They made their way to the practice area together, down the steep, grassy hill and over several slates of stone that protruded from the ground. None of them looked particularly pleased as they arrived; several scowls and a grimace from Neville greeted the smirking Slytherins.

Off to one side, there were about two-dozen broomsticks, laying in neat rows, a foots gap between them. Nobody moved too close to them and each house remained in its own separate huddle until their instructor, Madam Hooch, arrived.

She had short grey hair and sharp eyes. The unusual colour was easy to notice, as they were a bright yellow, akin to those of a hawk.

'Well?' she said, clapping her hands together. 'Everyone beside a broom. Hurry up, now.'

Everyone scrambled to stand beside one, trying to get the least mangled one. Out of everyone, Neville ended up with it.

'Now, I want you all the place your right hand over your broom and say "up" when I tell you to, okay?' She paused for a moment. 'Now!'

'Up!' everyone called.

Harry's shot straight into his hand and he turned to beam at Cassy. She watched his raised eyebrows and looked down at her own, which was rumbling slightly.

'With feeling,' Harry joked.

Cassy frowned and snapped 'up!'. The broom jumped into her hand and she faintly heard Harry laugh.

'I'm not surprised it worked that time. I'd be scared to.'

Cassy rolled her eyes and looked to see how the others were fairing. Draco had his in his hands already, smirking to his fellow Slytherins and looking over to Harry. His face dropped slightly when he noticed he too held a broom in his hands.

Neville's broom was static, not responding at all and Granger was having only a touch more luck. Her broom wiggled, rising slightly before falling again, eventually making it into her hands just before Madam Hooch called for everyone's attention.

She then demonstrated how to mount the broom. Frowning slightly, Cassy caught the eyes of several other girls, who were all peering around nervously. They were all in skirts. Madam Hooch seemed to notice this, as she did not bother correcting their stances and instead focused on their grips as she went from student to student inspecting them.

Returning to a spot where she could easily see everyone, she began again, 'Right. When I blow my whistle, I want you all to kick off hard. Raise your brooms about two feet for ten seconds, then slowly come back down by leaning forward slightly. I mean slightly, I don't want anyone slipping forwards and smacking their faces on the floor this year.'

Everyone stared at her silently, most rather intent on keep their feet planted firmly on the ground from now on.

'Okay,' she said loudly, 'on my whistle. One, two – Mr. Longbottom!'

Neville had panicked when she had begun counting and had kicked off too early. He panicked more as she shouted for him to return and he quickly shot into the air.

'Neville!' several students cried as he reached at least twenty-foot in the air.

He looked down at their shouts, pale faced and eyes wide, still drifting away. His palms were moist with sweat and he felt himself slipping. With a piercing shriek, he fell.

Cassy began running; vaguely aware Harry was right behind her. She came to a skidding halt beside Neville, who lay face down on the ground where he had landed with a nasty crack.

'Neville, Neville!' she cried quietly, helping Harry to roll the other over.

Madam Hooch appeared on Neville's other side and took the wrist Neville was holding to his chest gently into her hands.

'Broken,' she mumbled, pulling him to stand. 'The rest of you are to remain on the ground, do you understand? If I find a single one of you has moved you will be out of this castle faster than you can say Quidditch. I mean it.' She guided him back to the castle with an arm around his shoulders.

Draco let out a biting laugh as soon as she was out of ear shot.

'Did you see his face? What a baby, crying like that.'

The other Slytherins began cackling too and Cassy moved forward towards them.

'Shut up, Malfoy,' Patil barked, sneering.

'O-oh,' Pansy Parkinson cooed, ' I didn't know you liked crybabies, Patil. Let alone fat ones.'

Harry had moved to stand by Cassy's side, his fists clenched.

'Look! It's his Rememberall his Gran sent him,' Draco said as he darted forward. He plucked the tiny ball out of the grass near where Neville had stood previously. He threw it in the air, catching it again and holding it up for everyone to see.

'That's not yours,' Harry growled quietly.

Everyone fell silent. They watched as he stepped closer, now several feet in front of Cassy and looking eye to eye with Draco.

'Give it here,' he said, holding out his hand, but Draco's lips twisted into an ugly grin.

'No,' Draco said, stepping backwards slightly, 'I think Longbottom should get it himself. So I'll leave it somewhere for him to find. Like... that tree.'

As quick as a click, Draco was in the air. He rose steadily, hovering at the top of a tall pine tree at the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Cassy locked eyes with Harry for a moment and she nodded encouragingly at him. She need not have, she felt, for the look in Harry's eyes told her he was going to go without anyone's permission.

'No, you can't.' Granger shouted, racing towards him as he stooped to grab a broom. 'You'll get expelled and we'll all get into trouble!'

Harry brushed her off and mounted his broom. He kicked off the ground hard and shot into the air. His cloak billowed out behind him and his hair moved back, his scar visible. With a sense of confidence that could be felt even by those on the ground, Harry pulled his broom higher.

Patil and Brown gasped; huddling together they began to whisper. Ronald cheered and Cassy allowed herself to smile at her friend's stupidity.

'Give it here, Malfoy!' Harry said, removing one hand from his broom. 'Or I'll knock you off.'

Draco just sneered at him, making no movement to return the Remembrall.

The crowd on the ground gasped again as Harry bee-lined straight for the other, leaning far forward on his broom. Draco evaded at the last second and Harry swung sharply around to face him again, while several of the Gryffindor's were clapping.

'There's nobody to save you this time, Malfoy. You're on your own,' Harry shouted.

Draco's face paled. He scowled deeper and raised an arm.

'Then catch it if you can!' He threw it hard and the glass ball was hurtling towards to school.

Without missing a beat, Harry was off. He leant forward, racing towards the falling object. His broom was angled down, dipping into a steep dive with his hand outstretched.

Cassy stared, wide-eyed and stock still. She could barely hear the screams of others as Harry pulled up only a foot from the ground. He held up his arm and as the light caught in its surface, she could clearly see the Remembrall enclosed in his hand. With great relief, Cassy let out a breath she had not known she was holding.

Everyone began towards him, many clapping and cheering. However, just as his feet touched solid ground, there was a thunderous roar.

'Harry Potter!'

Professor McGonagall was running towards them at a speed which would have been impressive if the situation was not so dire.

'Never – never, have I seen - in all my time... you fool – you could have been injured, you could have died.'

Again, Cassy thought, seeing the stern witch so flustered and speechless might have been amusing, if Harry was not about to be expelled.

'It wasn't his fault, Professor, really-' Patil began, but the Professor quickly silenced her.

'It was-'

'Enough, I don't wish to hear any more,' the students quietened down instantly and she began pulling Harry towards the castle.

Harry turned as well as he could towards Cassy. She noticed his white face, laden with fear and shock. All she could do was stare back.

Nobody talked for several moments, although Cassy could tell Draco was almost dying to. Her eyes narrowed and she could feel her lips slip back into a snarl, even though she was trying not to.

Despite his anxiety, Draco was not the first to speak. It was Hermione Granger.

'I told him. Now look what he got himself into. Oh, what will Madam Hooch say-'

'Will you just be quiet?' Cassy said lowly, bringing all attention to her. 'Harry was defending his friend, _your _housemate. Yet, you stand there and speak as if he just spontaneously threw soup on the Hufflepuffs.'

'Madam Hooch clearly stated we were remain on the ground, she would have dealt with it when she got back-'

'Can you hear yourself? Can you not hear how ridiculous you sound?' Cassy stared hard at the other girl in disbelief. 'Yes, he broke the rules, but does his reasoning count for nothing? Think, Granger.'

Granger floundered. She looked towards the others for support, but she could not catch any of their gazes. Looking again towards Cassy, a figure filled her with relief. Madam Hooch was striding towards them with sharp eyes.

'Why are you all over here?' She asked.

Ronald, Finnigan and Dean all tried to launch into a story at the same time, talking over one another and giving the details in varying levels of accuracy. Silencing them with a hand, Madam Hooch turned to Granger. She repeated the events with great accuracy, but was occasionally interrupted by either the Slytherins denying something, or the Gryffindors feeling the need to boost Harry's actions that little bit more.

Sighing, Madam Hooch massaged her temples with her thumb and forefinger.

'Given all your faces, I'm going to end the lesson here. I don't think we need any more drama for today, thank-you.'

Everyone split up and Cassy found herself quickly walking towards Professor McGonagall's classroom. She was not quite sure where her office as deputy head would be, so she hoped with all her might that she would be there so Cassy might have a chance to persuade her against the expulsion. She knew really, that whatever she said was likely to have little effect as the Professor had most likely already made up her mind. However, trying and failing was better than nothing at all.

Reaching the classroom faster than she ever had before, Cassy pushed open the door. At the desk directly in front, was Professor McGonagall, watching Cassy over the top of her glasses.

'Something you need, Miss Black?'

'Forgive me for intruding, Professor, but what has happened to Harry? Surely he had not been expelled?'

It was easy for the old witch to see the concern hidden in the girl's eyes, even though her expression was schooled and her posture proper.

'No,' she said slowly. 'Mr. Potter will not be expelled over this. However, it must be noted that if he were ever to repeat such a stupid and reckless act he would find himself on the first train back to London immediately.'

Cassy relaxed slightly, breathing out, then nodding her head.

'I apologise for my rude entrance, Professor. Have a nice afternoon.'

Cassy left swiftly and made her way towards the hospital wing where she assumed Neville to be. In passing, she had wondered were Harry had disappeared to, if he was not expelled, but she assumed he was most likely already in the common room with the others.

She passed several turnings on her way to the hospital wing, but one in particular caught her eye. Moving silently down the corridor, she stopped behind the slow figures.

'I think it is you who has fallen, Draco.' Her tone was even and neutral, but the sound of it made the three in front of her jump around, wands drawn.

'Cassy!' Draco exclaimed, before catching himself. 'What do you want, Black?'

'A word, alone.'

After deliberating for a few moments, Draco waved Crabbe and Goyle away. They vanished around a corner farther down.

'All right,' Draco said, turning to her, 'what do you want?'

'What you did was senseless and cruel.'

'Are you talking about Longbottom? He's a fat squib, it doesn't matter-'

'It matters to me. He's my friend.'

'Cass, you can't be serious,' Draco hissed, 'he's- he's _him_, I mean really-'

'Do you expect me to be completely friendless, Draco? He's kind and does not care who I am.'

Draco groaned and shook his head.

'But him, really? You're not friends with the Weasley though are you?' Draco had a pleading look on his face and Cassy scoffed.

'No, I can't stand the boy,' she said and Draco let out a deep sigh. 'Not that it is any concern of yours. Although, I must ask, what happened between you and Harry?'

'_Harry_? You are on a first name basis with Potter.'

'He asked and he's also a good friend. Draco, this is not the point. Can you please try and install some of your Slytherin tact before I am forced to tell my dear cousin about your behaviour?'

'You will not tell my mother anything!'

'Then grow up a little, please.'

Draco snarled slightly. Cassy was not put off in the slightest, having played a similar game with him before many times. Prepared for his next actions, she knew he was not going to do as she asked for the moment.

Draco turned on his heel and marched down the corridor, Crabbe and Goyle rejoining him as he passed their turning.

Cassy moved back the way she came and went again towards the hospital wing. It took less than two minutes to locate Neville wandering down a corridor.

She smiled and asked: 'Where are you going?'

Neville jumped around, eyes bulging and heart racing. He clutched his chest with his hand, the one Cassy realised he had broken earlier.

'All fixed, are you?' she said, smiling slightly. 'Everything but your sense of direction, it would seem.'

Neville flushed, but Cassy paid it no heed this time.

'We should go to the Great Hall. There's quite a lot you missed.'

At dinner, Harry had ran through what had happened after Professor McGonagall had taken him away with great enthusiasm.

'I can't believe that McGonagall, of all people, bent the first year rule for you! You are so lucky. You were pretty brilliant though, congrats,' Finnigan said as they ate.

'Thanks, I thought for sure I was going to be expelled,' Harry said.

Despite Oliver Wood, the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, wishing to keep the Harry's new position a secret, the news had spread throughout Gryffindor like wild fire that they had found an excellent seeker and all the first years had come to the conclusion it must be Harry. After a few probing questions, the boy relented and spilled everything that happened.

'Seeker?' Ronald said breathlessly. 'I can't believe it. You must be the youngest house player in-'

'-A century, according to Wood, ' Harry said, scooping another pie onto his plate and ripping it to pieces with his fork.

'It's a good job you are such a talented flier, otherwise I'd be able to see Threstrals far earlier than I would have liked,' Cassy said sternly.

'See what?' Harry asked, swallowing the pie without really chewing it.

'Thestrals, horse type creatures that are supposed to only be visible after you see someone die.'

'Oh,' Harry said slowly. 'Thanks for the vote of confidence there, Cassy. You thought I'd break my neck.'

'Everyone did, mate,' Finnigan piped up again from down the table. 'No one that had never flown before is that good. I thought Lavender was going to burst into tears when you dived. Besides, thestrals aren't real.'

Brown moved to swat Finnigan and Harry grinned.

Suddenly, Harry's vision was obscured by a surge of orange on either side of his head and he quickly realised the Weasley twins had lent in beside him.

'Well done, we heard about it from Oliver,' George said lowly. 'We're on the team too, we're the beaters.'

'Woods already bragging about how we're going to win the house cup this year. He was practically skipping down the corridor as he passed us earlier. We haven't won since Charlie left, you see. It always goes to Slytherin,' Fred added on his other side.

In tandem, they rose, bidding farewell and moving to sit with a dark-skinned boy near the end of the table.

In his absence, the topic of the group had moved onto the giant squid in the Black Lake and Harry was not entirely sure how. However, that too was soon interrupted as Draco sauntered up to the table.

'Your last meal Potter? Are you savouring it before you return to the Muggles? When do you leave, anyway?'

'I'm not,' Harry answered calmly.

'What do you mean you're not?' Draco asked scathingly.

'I haven't been expelled. You're stuck with me.' Harry looked up at Crabbe and Goyle before smirking himself. 'You're a lot cockier now you're on the ground with your friends to help you.'

Draco growled and he could feel Cassy's eyes on him. He moved back, not looking at her, but not far enough to leave the conversation.

'We'll see about that, I can take you on any time, with or without them. A wizard's duel. Tonight. Crabbe will be my second.' Draco paused for a moment to really consider the two behind him before settling on his decision. 'What's the matter Potter? Afraid? Or have you never heard of a wizard's duel before?'

'Of course he has!' jumped in Ronald. 'I'll be his second.'

'Fine. Tonight at midnight in the Trophy room. It's always unlocked.'

With that, the three of them left and Harry just raised his eyebrows, still largely in good spirits from the news earlier.

'What's a wizard's duel?' he asked.

'Y'know, a fight, with magic and stuff,' Ronald offered, shoving more pie into his mouth. 'I'm your second; I'll take over if you die.'

Harry looked appalled and Cassy stepped in.

'You should stay away from there tonight,' she said to Harry. 'Nothing good will come of it.'

'Nothing good will come of it if he doesn't go! Malfoy will just tell everyone how much of a chicken Harry was. You can't _not_ show up to a Wizard's duel, especially once you've agreed!' Ronald said, scowling at her.

'No, but Harry wasn't the one to agree to go, was he?' Cassy said lowly. 'It's rather because I doubt Draco has any intentions of really showing up. Imagine trying to get from the dungeons to the Trophy room without being caught. Besides, neither of you know enough spells for a proper duel. The entire thing would just be silly.'

Harry contemplated the idea, knowing she did have a point. The idea of not showing up and facing ridicule haunted him though and the conflicting thoughts swirled in his mind. Ronald, however, seemed to have a much cleared opinion on the situation.

The need to argue with whatever Cassy says proved too much for Ronald as they made their way back to the common room. He seethed, glaring at her frown the corner of his eye the entire time they walked and git his teeth, until they passed the trophy room itself. What he was not aware of was that Cassy was doing the same, just glancing away then she could tell he was about to look. He was getting on her nerves and although not really helping the situation, Cassy was prepared to act as wearisome and irritable as Ronald was.

'You are going to the duel tonight, right, Harry? We'll kick those git's butts for sure.' Ronald said. He grinned, punching out his arm to try and invoke any sense of enthusiasm from the other, but Harry hesitated.

'I'm not sure, what if it is a trap? I'm already on thin ice...' Harry said honestly, looking up at his taller friend. 'I don't know what I'd do if I got expelled. I can't go back to the Dursley's...'

'You can't be serious! We won't be caught and if we are, we have Malfoy as evidence,' Ronald gapped, looking absolutely mortified. He let out several half formed words, eventually closing his mouth tightly.

Cassy glanced at Ronald out the corner of her eye, gauging his reaction. He stared straight back at her and slowed his pace and Cassy did the same when he did not break eye contact. They walked behind Harry and Neville, slowing more with each step until the two had disappeared around the corner.

'I can't believe he's taking your side! He doesn't even know if what you're saying about him is true.'

'I am being honest, Weasley. Draco had little reason to show up other than to get Harry in trouble. I know Draco and I know what I'm saying. Harry would be wise to listen,' she said evenly, with only the faintest hint of steeliness.

'I know about Lucius Malfoy, that's his dad, isn't it? My dad never stops complaining about him and all his pride. Wizarding duels are very much about pride, Black.'

'I know what they are about, Weasley. Draco is not stupid enough to enter something like that when he might lose.'

'And what if you're lying?'

'And what if I'm not?' said Cassy darkly.

'He's your cousin or something, right? Why wouldn't you help him?'

Cassy's frown deepened. Ronald raised a good point, but not one that was valid. There was no positive for Draco in getting Harry expelled. He would be rid of one person who annoyed him, but he would only create a whole host of those who were vengeful for their friend.

'If you noticed anything at all, Ronald, you would know Draco and I haven't been getting on well at the moment because I'm a Gryffindor,' she said quietly. She did not know how many times she would have to say it for him to believe it, but she would say it another hundred if it meant he would.

'And yet you still call him "Draco",' he scoffed, crinkling his nose as he said his name. 'The hat clearly got it wrong. How could you be so different from your family? You're not really, are you? You talk like them, you walk like them- yet, you are a Gryffindor. I haven't seen anything that makes you one of us. You're sharp-tongued and deceiving.'

'Thank-you,' she smiled back cheerfully. 'It's a wonder you're in Gryffindor too, all things considered, but I suppose you needed to be put somewhere and you certainly don't suit Ravenclaw.'

'My family had always been in Gryffindor,' he bit back, but she only smirked wider.

'But that doesn't mean that's where you should be. Take me for an example, I know you love doing so.'

'You are just like my dad describes Lucius Malfoy; cocky, rude and never a nice thing to say about anyone who doesn't have money. That's why you're friends with Longbottom, right, because he has money? I can't see why else you would be. He only hangs about with you because he thinks you can protect him from Snape.'

Cassy's eyes narrowed, his words catching old wounds. On the surface, she supposed she was a lot like her family, in fact, it probably stretched more than skin deep. It was not true thought, she was never going to accept that she was exactly the same as the rest of them. She may care for them, love them, even, but she would never wish to be the same. She could never live with herself being the same. Someone like her would never be given the opportunity to be the same, but that was not a thought she wished to delve into and certainly not one she was going to voice. Ronald Weasley of all people had no business knowing her insecurities.

'How dare you compare me to Lucius,' seethed Cassy. Stating she was like her family was one thin, but she wished for no similarities to be drawn between her and her cousins husband ever again.

Cassy was the slightest bit aware of footsteps around the corner, two pairs that she thought may potentially be Harry and Neville. She could not be sure because looking would mean breaking her stare with Ronald and she would not lose it.

'Oh, not fond of him? I can see why, people who are so similar tend to fight,' he smirked back.

'I don't think your father's opinion really counts for the country's, does it? You hardly know me, you have never bother to know me. You don't know what I'm like and my personality is not written in stone.'

'I don't think I need to get to know you,' said Ronald, 'you've shown me enough. You've just proved you're entire family is no good. You're no good.'

'Ron!' Harry said loudly, eyes blazing and body stiff.

Cassy barely caught him doing so, sneering, she drawled: 'Have I not already proved I am different? I was placed here for a reason, but I do not need to defend myself to you. Never to you of all people, Weasley.'

Ronald sneered at the derogatory use of his surname and Cassy was vaguely aware of how that may have sounded. She did not care though, even if it was not her intention, she would not take it back. If he was going to play such a game then she could to, for she had no reason to believe his family were any different from him either. In a fit of childish rage, her barred teeth pulled back into a smirk and her eyebrows rose as if daring him to say something else.

'And where has that got you? Look at Malfoy, your own family thinks you're a freak now-'

'Shut up. Shut up right now!' Harry roared.

Several of the portraits had stopped to listen, whispering to each other as they watched the group of four. They watched with rapt attention, having not seen such a fight between house mates so intense for many years.

Harry breathed deeply, trying to calm himself with little effect. Ronald and Neville watched wide-eyed, mouths open and speechless. Cassy was slightly more composed, but the shock was still evident on her face.

'You have no right,' Harry said quietly, 'no right at all, to ever call someone that.'

He looked up at Ronald. The red-haired boy shifted, opening his mouth slowly, but Harry cut him off, 'I don't want to hear it,' he said. 'I'm leaving.'

Harry turned abruptly, seizing Cassy's wrist and tugging her down the corridor in a fast walk. Neither Neville nor Ronald tried to follow them for they still stood in shock.

Turning down several corridors, neither Cassy nor Harry knew where they were any longer. They just walked in silence, Harry still leading. It was after several more turns that they stopped in an empty room, lit with torches and void of furniture.

'Harry, what's wrong?' Cassy asked once he had let go of her wrist.

'Why – why do you two have to do that? Why do you always have to argue, it doesn't make any sense.'

'Out families have never got on, Harry. Ronald sees me as nothing more than another Black, because- because I have similarities to them that I can't help.'

'That can't just be it though, they never escalated to anything like before. When you really began to argue...' he muttered.

The undertones of their agreements were always there, but Harry could not have picked up on them, for he did not know what he was looking for. Cassy was fairly certain that a majority of people around them did and gave them a wide berth whenever the two were in close proximity. It just built and built, until Draco could act as a catalyst to prove either side right about the other.

'He didn't say anything I've not heard before. From both him and other students. Really, I didn't mind. I tend to ignore out arguments for the most part,' she said, honestly.

'But he insulted your family and you didn't even flinch. It was only when he brought it around to you that you seemed bothered at all.'

'There are few members of my family I actually care for. My great uncle and two of my cousins would about account for it.'

Harry frowned and asked, 'What about your parents?'

'My mother is dead and I've never known my father,' she said without feeling.

Harry sighed and sat down against one of the walls. Watching closely, Cassy could see her lack of response was only part of the issue.

'Harry... why is it you don't like that word?'

'My... relatives don't hold much respect for magic or anything different really. 'Freak'... is how they refer to... I just thought things might be different here as everyone's the same, but it's not.'

'Ronald was not trying to offend you when he said it,' Cassy said eventually. 'He did not even offend me with it.'

'No, but he said it to you. I don't see what difference your family should make to who you are. Mine are terrible, but he stills like me enough.'

Pausing slightly, Cassy considered telling him that she had virtually, if accidentally, done the same to Ronald at the end, but she held her tongue. Perhaps he had not been listening, or did not view it the same, whatever it was, Cassy had no wish to elaborate further because Harry should not need to hear centuries worth of prejudice squeezed into one argument.

'Mines... slightly different from magic-hating Muggles.' Cassy did not wish to elaborate past that. She doubted Harry would be so eager to defend her if he really knew the extent of her family issues, he might even side with Ronald and reconsider his previous statement. Luckily, he did not probe, no longer wishing to speak of his family either.

They sat in an uncomfortable silence for a while, occasionally hearing the footsteps of people passing.

'It will be curfew soon, I imagine,' Cassy said from where she sat.

Next to her, Harry nodded, pushing himself up to leave. However, a voice caused them to freeze.

'What's this? Is someone inside? Oh dear, oh dear.'

Harry and Cassy's eyes widened, watching with bated breath as a shadow was cast across the wall at the far end. The door was only pushed to, neither thinking to shut it completely like they had found it. They realised now, that they really should have.

'Oh, students have been in the Forbidden corridor, the Headmaster will not be pleased...'

With a jolt, the two looked at each other in utter horror. They quickly twisted, looking for any way out or anywhere to hide. If Filch caught them they were sure they would be on the first train home this time.

'The door!' Harry hissed, silently running towards it and pulling at the handle. 'It's locked.'

They looked back in panic as the door began to open and the light from the hall grew ever more intense.

Quickly pulling her wand from an inside pocket of her robe, Cassy pointed it at the iron lock, whispering, 'Alohomora!'.

The lock clicked quietly and Harry threw open the door. The pair rushed in, shutting it as quickly, but as quietly as they could.

Harry held the door closed, his ear pressed against the wood, while Cassy hung back slightly, one hand on his shoulder.

There was a faint sniffing noise and some shuffling footsteps for several minutes before a louder click of the door closing again. They sighed at the sound. There was a sudden puff of hot air, stale and rancid. With a scrunched nose, Cassy turned and then wished she had not.

Tall and formidable, the beast stood hunched, restricted by the ceiling. Its fur was a pale grey and its eyes bright yellow. All six of them.

'Cerberus,' Cassy breathed, eyes flitting over all three of the dog's heads.

Harry groped backwards, trying to find the door handle without any sudden movements.

Cassy watched in horror as it barred its teeth, lines of thick drawl spilling from its lips and onto the wooden floor. Her eyes trailed after it and Harry grabber her arm, having found the handle.

Throwing the door open, the two flung themselves backwards on the ground. They jumped up again and slammed the door shut. Even then the deep growls could be heard and the creature's warm breath seeped through the crack under the door.

They ran full pelt out the room, flying down the corridor and turning a corner before Cassy had the sense to pull their hoods up.

'Oy!' a sudden voice yelled, but the pair did not slow down.

'Filch,' she murmured and Harry realised just why she had retched his hood up to hide his distinctive messy hair. They waited until they were several corridors away before pulling them back down and slowing to a quick walk.

They passed several students as they made their way back to the tower, but no one paid them any mind, despite their flushed cheeks and jumpy movements. Only the Fat Lady raised an inquiring eyebrow as they gave her the password.

They slumped down on the plush scarlet sofa opposite the fire. It was several moments before either of them found the will to speak again.

'That dog – that dog should not be kept in a school. Or anywhere, for that matter,' Harry breathed, kicking his shoes off.

'It was guarding something, I think,' Cassy said, patting her hair to check whether it was all still in its plait.

'Why do you think that?'

'There was a little door in the floor, where it had been laying.'

Harry looked thoughtful. He pushed back his sweaty hair and looked at Cassy curiously.

'What do you think a dog like that may be guarding? It would have to be something pretty special.'

'I suppose,' she said. 'You already have something in mind, don't you?'

'Not exactly, but- come here.' He patted the sofa and Cassy moved closer. Leaning towards her ear, he explained his theory. 'When I went to Gringotts with Hagrid to get my supplies, there was a break in, remember?' Cassy nodded, having read about in the paper last month. 'Well, the vault that was broken into was the exact vault Hagrid took something out of while I was there.'

'So the Cerberus may be...'

'I think so,' Harry confirmed and Cassy's face lit up.

'Do you have any idea what it is? If someone was willing to break into Gringotts for it, it must be something very precious or powerful.'

'Hagrid wouldn't tell me, he just said it was "Hogwarts business".'

'Then it must be what is in that vault. That's too much of a coincidence, surely.'

Their voiced were getting louder as they spoke. Unrestrained enthusiasm for their new discovery led them to stay up late, speculating on what it could possibly be.

They made a promise to find out just what Hogwarts was hiding by the end of the school year before retiring to bed, although they both lay awake for long after that, their thoughts swirling.

* * *

**So-o... yeah.**

**I broke off Ron and Harry's friendship. I had to, really. It just wouldn't work so well. However, it will improve. **

**I always thought that Harry would be sensitive to people throwing around the word "freak" and I didn't think he'd react too well to someone call someone it over their family differences. It's something he's familiar with, after all.**

**So, Cassy's not always so calm and cold. She actually gets vexed and scared in this chapter. Quidditch was a traumatic lesson for her, haha. You get to see a little bit of rage here, as well as stubbornness that got her into trouble (well, got everyone into bother, really).**

**Thanks! **


	7. All Hallows' Evening

C. M. Black : Heart of a Lion

**Chapter VI: All Hallows' Evening**

Cassy and Harry met up for breakfast the next morning, cheerful and chatty, so much so that Neville felt the need to enquire about it. When they told him, however, Neville did not share their enthusiasm. He stared horror-stuck at them for several moments, having to run to catch up again after they did not stop for him to compose himself on the staircase.

'You can't be serious!' he cried. 'Something like that here? Imagine if it got loose.'

'I'd like to know how they got it in there. I don't think they could squeeze something that size through the doorway,' Harry said as they took their seats at the table.

'A temporary expansion charm, I would think,' Cassy said.

'I didn't know there was such a thing.'

The conversation was dropped after Neville exclaimed he did not want to hear any more and they took pity on his seeing his pallor face. It was, however, briefly rekindled when the two noticed Draco's mortified expression upon realising Harry was still there, proving Cassy's theory correct; and again when Ronald refused to sit with them and threw Cassy dirty looks every few minutes. She could understand that. She was still not going to apologise, however, not even when she saw the mournful looks Ronald sent Harry.

Surely two boys their age can talk out their differences, thought Cassy. She was not about to do it for them, when she still did not like one half of the party.

'I completely forgot about the duel,' said Harry. 'Good thing I didn't plan on turning up then, really.'

Over breakfast, the two had not been able to gather any more ideas on what the object could be. All they knew was that it was either very valuable or dangerous and was about two inches long. It was not much to go on, but at this stage, neither really minded.

They spent the next week in the library, looking up artefacts, although this proved to be more amusing than useful. They still had no other leads, but that was soon pushed aside one morning when a large parcel was deposited in from of them. The owls did not stay, instead quickly swooping out the window as another owl dropped a letter in Harry's lap.

Harry opened the letter quickly; aware much of the table was staring at him. It read:

Do not open this at the table – it contains your Nimbus 2000. Do not tell anyone. Wood will meet you for training at seven o'clock tonight.

Cassy had read the note over his shoulder and raised her eyebrows as she looked back at the package wrapped in brown paper.

'For not wanting anyone to see, it is very... broomstick shaped, isn't it?' she whispered into Harry's ear.

Neville watched the pair of them curiously for a moment, before they stood and indicated for him to follow. Quickly, the three left the hall and hurried to the common room. However, they were spotted half way across the entrance hall by Draco, Crabbe and Goyle.

'What's this?' said Draco, snatching the parcel and feeling along its length. 'A broomstick.'

He scowled and threw it back to Harry.

'Mind your own business, Malfoy,' Harry snapped, trying to push passed Crabbe and Goyle, who blocked the staircase.

'First years aren't allowed their own brooms, Potter. You'll get it this time.'

None of them rose to his words. Harry stomped on Goyle's foot and they pushed past, Neville being dragged between them.

'You can't hide it, Potter!' Draco called after them.

Harry turned, his mouth open and a hint of a smirk on his lips, but before anything else could be said, Professor Flitwick appeared at Draco's side.

'Not fighting, I hope,' he said, looking between the two groups.

'Potter's got a broom, sir,' Draco blurted quickly, pointing at the package in Harry's arms.

'Oh, yes!' the tiny professor squealed. He looked to Harry and a large smile spread across his face. 'Professor McGonagall told me about the special circumstances. Must have been quite a show! What model is it?'

'Nimbus Two Thousand, Sir,' Harry said.

Draco's smug face melted into a look of horror, but Flitwick's face only beamed more.

'Oh, well done. That's the best broom on the market at the moment, if I recall correctly.'

'Thank you sir, but it's really because of Malfoy here that I got it at all,' Harry smiled.

Professor Flitwick nodded furiously, not appearing to have listened to the last remark. He clapped his hands and began walking back to the Great Hall. Cassy, Harry and Neville turned, leaving Draco horror struck and made their way again up to the tower.

Harry grinned to the others once Draco was out of earshot, 'It's true, isn't it? If he hadn't stolen your Remembrall, Neville, I wouldn't be on the team.'

'I suppose you think you're terribly clever,' a voice sounded from behind them. 'You shouldn't be rewarded for breaking the rules. I can't believe the professors agreed to this.'

Turning, they saw Granger stomping up to them, hands on her hips.

'Sometimes rules need to be broken,' Cassy said airily, not allowing the infuriating girl to dampen her good spirits.

Granger let out a growl and stomped her foot. As she did, Harry rolled his eyes and began to turn back around.

'Nobody got hurt, I don't see any reason for you to stick your nose into it,' Harry said, causing Granger to flush.

'If you have a problem with the Professor's decision, I suggest you speak to her directly. Talking to us will not change her mind,' Cassy added, eyes lingering just long enough to watch Granger's nose winkle, before turning on her heel and walking down the corridor. Harry and Neville followed behind her, leaving the furious girl.

'That was a little rude, wasn't it?' Neville squeaked as they climbed through the portrait hole.

'Hermione's a little rude in general, Neville. I don't see how anything I do is her business,' Harry grumbled.

They entered the boys room and placed the package on Harry's bed.

'Won't you get into trouble if you get caught in here?' Neville asked Cassy as she sat at the foot of Harry's bed. The male dormitories looked just like the female ones, only far more messy. There were clothes strewn across the bed stead and tucked under the quilts. On the bed next to Harry's was a tattered old rat, sleeping soundly on the pillow.

'What is the likelihood of Professor McGonagall entering right now? Besides, we can't open it in the common room, there is a possibility too many people will see,' she replied, unperturbed at the idea of being caught.

Unwrapping the paper revealed a mahogany handle, sleek and shiny with "Nimbus 2000" embossed on the on the end in gold.

'Wow,' Neville gapped.

Harry, who had no knowledge of brooms, was still immensely impressed by his new broomstick. When he compared it to the one he flew during the flying lesson, this one might as well have been dipped in gold. It would undoubtedly fly smoother and faster than the school's. Harry could not wait until the evening to test it out.

'That's the best model out,' said Neville, touching the neatly trimmed twigs. 'This must have cost a fortune. Do you think McGonagall paid for it?'

'I don't know,' Harry shrugged, uncaring. 'Amazing though, isn't it?'

After the feast, Harry collected his broom and left for practice with Wood. Cassy and Neville sat cosily by the fire in the common room, Neville on the sofa and Cassy nestled comfortably in an armchair. They were steadily working through the potions essay Professor Snape had set that day, when Ronald waltzed over.

He sat next to Neville, saying nothing and his gaze switching between Cassy and the fire every few seconds.

'Is there something you want, Ronald?' Cassy asked eventually, after Neville had become too anxious to listen to her guidance any more.

'No, can't a guy just sit without being questioned?' Ronald said, too loud and too quickly.

Cassy raised an eyebrow at him and Ronald huffed, crossing his arms.

There was another stretch of silence before he admitted, 'I want Harry to start speaking to me again. I miss being friends with him.'

Cassy wore a flat expression, similar to that she had when he first spoke, but did not bother looking fully up at him this time. She asked, 'What do you expect me to do about it?'

'Speak to him! It's kind of your fault we fell out in the first place.' He looked at her with raised eyebrows, as if suggesting that that was an obvious answer.

'My fault? How is it my fault?'

'If you hadn't interfered we'd still be best mates. I was just trying to make him see sense He had to go and defend you and know he won't speak to me,' Ronald snapped. 'I didn't mean to offend him, I'm not even sure what happened. He's never been that bothered over one of our arguments before.'

Cassy wanted to tell Ronald his story was mixed up, as it was him who had not spoken to Harry over the last few weeks, but thought better of it. She said, 'That is something you're going to have to speak to him about on your own. It had nothing to do with me.'

'Yes it does,' he insisted. 'I've tried speaking to him, but he always asks if I've spoken to you about it. You need to tell him everything is fine.'

'Everything is not fine, Ronald. Nothing between us is fine and you coming over here only proves it! You are tactless and selfish and perhaps that is why Harry wants you to talk to me, not for help, but for something else and if you can't figure that out on your own I am certainly not helping you to.' She stared back down at her book, leaving it to her mind to conjure an expression for Ronald's shock.

'Why won't you let me and him be friends? We were good friends before you appeared.'

Before she could say anything at all, Neville spoke up.

'It's when you say things like that people don't want to talk to you,' the shy boy suddenly exclaimed. 'You say nasty things about other people and get angry when others don't agree. You should just speak to Harry yourself!'

'Oh, shut up, Neville. I do not,' Ronald said, scowling at the other. 'And this has nothing to do with you.'

'Yes, you do. You're horrible to Cassy and you're always rude to Hermione. And you blame everyone else for something you did! You need to think about it for a second, Ron.'

Cassy watched Neville in surprise, enjoying a sudden display of his Gryffindor courage. It was apparent that Ronald had not expected Neville's reaction either, for he sat staring, mouth open. Finally, he stood and stomped out of the portrait hole, shoulders slumped. Apparently, he did not know how to react to Neville either and chose the safest option of retreating, but Cassy was not think of that at that moment.

Neville turned to Cassy, cheeks quickly becoming pink when he noticed the way her eyes had crinkled and her mouth was upturned. She looked absolutely proud of him.

'Sorry,' he mumbled, unsure of what to say. He felt his face burning red and his own words were only beginning to ring in his ears.

'Don't be,' Cassy said, smiling gently. '...Thank-you, for backing me up. I advise you hold your new-found tongue with Professor Snape, though. Imagine how well that would go.'

'I'd be drowned in my cauldron.'

They shared an embarrassed laugh, neither knowing what else to say.

They chattered lightly and soon finished up their Potions essay. Harry returned shortly after, with pink cheeks and a large grin on his face. He raved openly about how brilliant his broomstick was, barely bothering to curb his volume as he did. The flight was unwavering and the speed unparalleled, the last part was observed by Wood, who past them with a cheesy smile on his face.

Cassy passed over her essay, allowing Harry to read it before starting on his own. It never made much difference to his grade anyway, because he was the type to succeed when he tried and fail when he wanted to and he certainly did not care enough about pleasing the Professor to try and match Cassy's work. Once he had made a good start, Cassy looked to Neville and caught his eye. He looked curiously at her.

'Ronald spoke to us while you were at training,' Cassy said, 'he wants to be friends with you again.'

'Really?' Harry said.

'Yeah, apparently the entire thing is Cassy's fault,' Neville mumbled as he stuffed several Berty Bott's every flavour beans into his mouth.

'Really?' Harry said again, 'How did he figure that one?'

'We hadn't quite established that when Neville drove him away,' Cassy said, her tone light, but a smirk on her lips.

Neville flushed and Harry turned in surprise.

'Really?'

'Yes, really. Are you so shocked from Quidditch you can say nothing else?' Cassy teased and Harry stuck his tongue out at her.

'Be quiet. So, what did you do, mate?' Harry said, turning to Neville.

'N-nothing. Don't worry about it,' Neville said.

'I'm not worrying.'

'He basically told Ronald that he was a inconsiderate fool who can't take responsibility for his own actions,' Cassy cut in before Neville could deny it any further.

Harry looked surprised, but then laughed and patted the other boy's shoulder, saying, 'Good for you, Nev. Although, why was he telling this to you two if he wanted to be friends with me again?'

'He wanted us to speak to you, I think,' Neville said, only smiling slightly, but glowing from the other's praise.

'He can speak to me himself, he has done actually, twice. I always tell him to speak to you, Cassy, but he never seems to get the hint.' Harry frowned. 'Anyway, I speak to him sometimes, but we're not on too good terms at the moment. He still doesn't know why I'm unhappy. In fact, Cassy, you should apologise as well – to him, I mean.'

'Excuse me?' she said loudly.

'You fight with him too, it's usually not as harsh as he is, but you still do it. If you two apologised to each other we might get somewhere.'

Cassy looked at him with disdain. She could not see it happening and her mind was struggling to even comprehend the idea of it. If Ronald had been more polite to begin with, she would not have retaliated as she did. Deciding quickly that Ronald should be the first to apologise for making such a poor first impression, she simply said, 'We'll see.'

Harry looked doubtful, as if he had read her thoughts and knew she had no intention of such. He began to frown, however, his expression quickly changed as he gagged.

'You should not put so many beans in your mouth at once. I cannot imagine that would taste nice at all,' Cassy said, watching as his eyes scrunched together while he chewed. 'At least Neville has the sense to pick ones of the same colour.'

Choosing not to take her advice, Harry shovelled another handful of sweets into his mouth the next day as they were working on their charms homework. The three had established some-what of a routine for their studies, which largely just involved doing whatever homework they got the night they received it. Classes had eased up on homework in the latter half of October. With the basics mastered, all the subjects were beginning to move onto more advanced work, to Cassy's joy and Neville's despair.

It had been almost two months since the start of Hogwarts. It had flashed by and Cassy found herself shocked it was already Halloween. The hall was decorated with floating pumpkins, some of which had faces carved on their surface, replacing the sea of candles that clouded the ceiling every night. Everyone was in good spirits about the great Halloween feast that was to be held in the evening, but what Cassy was really looking forward to was Charms and Transfiguration. In both lessons, they were going to be starting new units and by the end of the day Cassy hoped to have something else she could write to her uncle about.

In Charms, Professor Flitwick announced they were going to start learning how to make things hover and float. It was something everyone had been looking forward to since their first lesson, where Professor Flitwick made Trevor, Neville's toad, fly back and forth across the room.

He split them up into pairs and again Cassy found herself partnered with Dean. They shared a smile as the tall boy moved to sit by her.

Harry was paired with Finnigan and Neville was with Hannah Abbot, the Hufflepuff Cassy had sat with in the boat on the first day. What was more amusing than seeing the pair blush awkwardly at each other, was the red, furious faces of Ronald and Granger, who had been paired together. It was a well known fact they bickered at every turn and Cassy had a feeling Professor Flitwick knew this; it was probably why they were paired together.

'Everyone, remember the movement we've been practising. Swish and flick – nice and smooth, all right? Words too, they're very important,' said Professor Flitwick from atop his pile of books. He beamed around the class and motioned for them to start.

Dean smiled at Cassy, asking, 'How have you been, I haven't spoken to you in ages.'

'Three days,' Cassy said, 'I've been fine. Nothing unusual has happened and nothing mundane has arose. I'm fine.'

'Good,' Dean grinned at her reply. 'I've just been bogged down with homework. I swear they all set it for the same day to watch us squirm...'

'You should do it when you get it. You might find it doesn't all creep up on you.'

'No, that's far too sensible for me.'

Cassy laughed lightly and turned to their shared feather. Her wand was raised when Professor Flitwick began to cheer.

'Look – look everyone. Miss Granger's done it! Oh, well done. Five points to Gryffindor.'

He almost slipped off his pile of books as he jumped for joy. He looked around the room, eyeing out the next person to accomplish it. Lazily, Cassy rose to the challenge and flicked her wand. The feather rose steadily and Professor Flitwick began cheering all over again.

By the end of the lesson, at least half the class had got their feathers off the desk and the Professor promised to continue next time from where they had last left off.

Ronald had left with his ears burning, but not before snapping, 'Honestly, you're a nightmare. No wonder you don't have any friends!' to Granger.

'Ron,' growled Harry under his breath, his eyebrows rose and his eyes widened as Ronald turned shot him a sheepish look.

Granger had stormed past him and disappeared down the corridor. Nobody said anything, but each eyed Ronald with a wary and disapproving gaze before moving onto their next lesson.

However, Granger was not there and when Professor Sprout questioned her absence, the Gryffindors shifted awkwardly and avoided her gaze. Ronald looked mildly disturbed and Cassy was pleased to see he had some sense in him, even if it did not stretch far enough to do anything about Granger.

The feast rolled around and they had yet to see her. As the three entered the Great Hall, they could over hear Patil and Brown talking non to quietly.

'She's been in the bathroom crying all the time, apparently,' Patil said.

'Really? Do you think we should go and see her?' Brown asked.

Brown looked worried, glancing up at the staircases and then back to her friend.

'No, she said she wanted to be left alone.'

Neville paused and looked at Cassy and Harry.

'Do you think...?' He said uneasily.

'She said she wanted to be left alone,' Cassy said, but made no further movement to enter the Great Hall. She looked to Harry who appeared conflicted between his desire to help and his dislike for Granger.

'Okay,' he said, finally. 'Why don't we see how she is and if she tells us to leave, we'll leave?'

Reluctantly, they moved towards the nearest girl's bathroom to the Charms classroom. Neville and Harry stopped abruptly outside.

'In you go then,' Harry said, looking at Cassy.

'Excuse me?' She asked.

'Well, you're a girl. Only girls can go into the girls bathroom,' Neville said.

Harry nodded and Cassy frowned, feeling as though she had been tricked.

'Fine,' she finally said, pushing the wooden door open and stepping inside. The bathroom was one of the smaller ones in the castle. It lacked windows, being lit only by a wall-mounted candles and the dark-stained wood of the stalls made the space feel far smaller than it really was. At the far end, a door was closed.

'Granger?' she said. 'I know you're in here, I can hear you sniffing.'

'Go away!' Granger snapped from what definitely sounded like the end stall.

Cassy moved farther in, running a hand across one of the porcelain sinks. She remained silent and Granger continued to sniff quietly. She had no real like for the girl, finding her intrusive and tactless. However, it was expected of her to at least try and console her – something Cassy had never really done and something she expected she would not have great skill in. Cassy waited several more seconds.

'You should not be so bothered by Ronald. He has proven to be senseless and idiotic already,' she said. 'If you cannot tell, he has not proved to be very popular either as of late.'

Granger sniffed louder and let out an irritable sigh. She moved inside the stall, rustling before emerging puffy-eyed.

'Just leave me alone. You're no better, really,' she said.

'Excuse me?' Cassy said again, her eyebrows rising.

'You think I'm a nightmare as well, just like Ron. Everyone thinks I am.'

'Well,' Cassy said, 'you would be far more bearable if you didn't always act as if you knew better than everyone. If it does not concern you then let it be. People will like you a lot more for it.'

'O-oh,' Granger huffed, 'how can I when people are breaking the rules in their silly games? Harry even got rewarded for using him broom when he wasn't supposed to. What does that show?'

'I've already told you he was doing it to defend a friend. When it's for those kind of reasons, how can you say rule breaking is so bad?' Cassy gauged the other's expression carefully.

Granger stared in the mirror, indirectly watching Cassy. She shifted and rubbed her eyes again.

'Yes, well... we'll see. I'm still not convinced. Ron's just a – a...'

'Fool, moron, idiot, troll, flobberworm-?'

'A what?' Granger asked, her eyebrows disappearing into her hair line.

'Flobberworm? It's an animal.'

'Is it really?'

Granger shook her head suddenly and looked at her own reflection. The swelling had gone down and the skin was merely a faint shade of pink. It was difficult to tell she had been crying and by the time she reached the Great Hall for dinner, it would probably be impossible.

'I'm going to dinner now,' she announced, passing Cassy. She did not wait for a reply, instead leaving swiftly, pushing past Harry and Neville, who looked surprised to see her.

Sighing, Cassy also emerged and saw the curious gazes of her friends.

'Any luck?' Neville asked.

'Somewhat. She does not particularly like me, so it went as well as it could have, I would wager,' Cassy said, looking towards where Granger had gone.

'She didn't look happy, but at least she wasn't crying,' said Harry.

'She had been though. Her eyes were red when I first saw her.'

'Ron's just insulting everyone at the moment, isn't he?'

'Has he spoken to you about being friends again?' Cassy asked him.

'No,' Harry said, shrugging Neville off as he began to pull at his sleeve. 'Even if he did I'm not sure I want to be his friend. I mean, he can be nice and funny, but he's really rude to – Oh, what is it, Neville?'

Harry and Cassy turned to face him, but upon following his line of sight froze.

At the end of the corridor, stood a twelve foot figure. Its shoulders were hunched forward, extending the reach of the already oversized arms and rippling its protruding stomach. With dull, grey skin, thick and marred, Cassy and Neville knew what it was instantly.

Its tiny head was turned towards them, eyes barely comprehending, but seeing them none-the-less. It began to advance, dragging the great club it held across the stone floor.

'Troll, troll, we need to move,' Cassy urged, grabbing a sleeve of each of the boys' robes and pulling them backwards slowly.

The troll continued towards them just as slow, never making ground, but never any farther away. Until its club knocked over a suit of armour, that is.

At the crash, Neville bolted, jerking Cassy as she lost grip on his sleeve. In blind panic, Cassy and Harry ran as well, ducking down a narrow corridor on the left.

The troll had realised and they could hear its booming footfalls as it followed, getting louder and louder.

'There!' Harry cried, pointing to an open classroom farther down. The three of them flung themselves in it and slammed the door.

'Move the furniture, block the door,' Cassy said, backing away.

They never got the chance. The troll had crashed into the door at some speed, splintering it easily and clearing the only obstacle it had.

Cassy hit the floor, debris catching her neck and face and Harry had stumbled backwards, winded. He hauled her to her feet, throwing his head to his left, where Neville stood, cowering behind a table. He pushed Cassy over to him and the three ducked down.

'What do we do?' Neville cried.

'Quiet. Stay very quiet,' Cassy whispered.

The troll ducked in the doorway, staggering from the blow it received when its head collided with the stone door frame. It grunted, peering around and shifting tables with the club. As it moved inwards, the three crept towards the door under the cover of the tables.

Cassy and Harry kept a firm hand on Neville, pulling him along as he threatened to freeze up at any moment, even though they themselves were trembling. A startling ring met their ears and they paused, eyes travelling down to watch the doorknob roll across the stone tiles. They followed its movement backwards. Harry's foot had knocked it as they walked. A grunt followed.

'Down!' Harry roared, throwing himself into Neville and in turn knocking him down into Cassy. They landed roughly in a heap. It was followed by a loud shattering and then another bang.

Trying to push herself free from the others, having landed at the bottom of the pile despite being the smallest, Cassy craned around. The troll's club lay on the floor and a shattered shelf lay scattered around it. Panic swelled in her stomach and she struggled to stand, almost kicking Neville as she quickly wiggled out and stood, wand drawn.

Harry followed suit and Neville let out a sob, struggling to rise from the ground.

I wish I knew how to turn things into pigs right now, Cassy thought as she remembered their first Transfiguration lesson.

She stood ready, breathing deeply as the troll advanced, grunting loudly and shouted, 'Wingardium Leviosa!'

One of the wooden stools flew at the troll, smashing into the side of its head. It paused, looking at where the stool had come from and the three seized the opportunity to run into the corridor, but even that victory was short lived.

The troll sluggishly moved towards its club and the three had nowhere to go. They could not outrun it and no help was in sight.

The troll turned towards them again and Neville slumped to the floor.

'Come on, Neville. Not now. Gryffindor, remember? Courage and bravery,' Cassy mumbled, kneeling down to try and pull the boy to his feet, but he was a dead weight. Looking back towards the troll, her eyes narrowed.

'Its feet,' she said suddenly. 'We need to pull that wood from underneath its feet.' She pointed towards a large chunk of the door under its right foot.

The troll was not moving quickly any more, its pace having slowed when none of the three had shown any sign of running, but its beady eyes followed Harry as he too moved to crouch next to Neville.

'It's going to be heavy; we'll all need to do it. Do you think you can, Nev? We need you to do this,' Harry urged, pointing his wand at the ground.

Neville nodded numbly and fumbled for his own wand.

The three gripped tightly onto one another and shouted at the top of their lungs, 'Wingardium Leviosa!'

The board flew from underneath it, soaring over their heads and into the wall behind. The troll staggered, flailing its arms. It propelled itself forward, trying to remain upright and bent at the waist. With a resounding crack, its head collided with the door frame and it slumped down to the ground.

They breathed shakily for several moments, slowly rising.

'I can't believe we're alive,' Neville breathed.

'That was far scarier than the Cerberus,' Cassy said, sweeping a hair that had escaped her bun back from her eye.

'Definitely. At least the dog couldn't chase us,' Harry agreed.

They stood awkwardly for several minutes, not sure whether to leave or wait for someone to arrive, but their mind was quickly made up for them.

'What on earth are you three- Melin's beard, is that-' Professor McGonagall had come speeding down the hall, followed by Professors Snape and Quirrell. She pointed her wand at the troll, despite its lack of movement.

Professor Snape quickly swooped towards it and Professor McGonagall turned to them, white-lipped and furious. They had never seen her so angry, not even when Harry had dived during their flying lesson.

'What in Merlin's name do you three think you were doing? Look at you, you could have died! Why aren't you upstairs in the tower?'

'We didn't know we were supposed to be,' Harry said, shrinking slightly at the deadly glare he received.

'So when you were all ordered to leave the hall, you didn't know you where supposed to go? Although it was mentioned very, very clearly?'

'We were not at the feast, Professor,' Cassy said quietly.

'And why would that be?' Professor McGonagall asked, raising an eyebrow, yet keeping her tone icy.

'H-Hermione was crying,' Neville said. 'She's been crying all afternoon because Ron insulted her. We went to see how she was.'

'Then where is Granger now?' Professor Snape queried, staring hard.

'She left just before the troll arrived. Cassy was explaining what happened to me and Neville when the troll appeared,' Harry said honestly.

Professor McGonagall surveyed them critically, and then sighed, 'Go to the hospital wing, all three of you. Your face needs looking at, Miss Black. I hope I can trust you to get there fine and not get petrified by a basilisk.'

The three left immediately, caught somewhere between staggering and running. They went directly to the hospital wing wordlessly, pushed open the double doors and stumbled in with enough speed to shock the Matron.

'Good Morgana,' she gasped. 'You three should be in bed- oh dear, what happened to your face?'

Cassy was not sure what was wrong with her face, only that it stung and people liked to comment on it at present. She later learnt the debris had sliced her cheek, leaving splinters in the open wound and many little ones surrounding it. It had bled rapidly, making the wound look far worse than it actually had been. It was nothing Madam Pomfrey could not fix, once she had removed all the splinters with tweezers.

Professor McGonagall had returned during the process, followed by the Headmaster. Her face was still stern, but her fury had clearly lessened.

'I have spoken to Miss Granger. She verified your story,' she said.

Her hands remained on her hips, unmoving as Professor Dumbledore stepped around and stood close to the bed the three sat on. He smiled gently, blue-eyes twinkling.

'You three are especially fortunate,' he said softly. 'Most first years would have died when facing a mountain troll. You are either extremely skilled, or extremely lucky.'

'A combination of both would be great, Sir,' Harry smiled, receiving one in return from Professor Dumbledore.

Professor McGonagall sighed heavily and gave each of them a piercing stare. She looked as if she desperately wanted to deduct points, her anger not yet having fully gave way.

'For aiding a fellow Gryffindor in a time of distress, five points,' she said, the children's faces lit up. 'For thinking on your feet in a time of need, ten points each. Even if it was shire dumb luck.'

Madam Pomfrey smeared a clear paste on Cassy's face and allowed the three to leave. They strolled back up to their dormitories, not having the energy or will to move any faster. The troll had taken its toll on them.

'I can't believe we got thirty-five points,' Harry said, climbing the final staircase before the portrait.

'Are you in disbelief that we actually received points, or that we only got that many?' Cassy asked. 'Either way, I don't really care. I just want to sleep.'

'I'm hungry. We missed the feast,' Neville groaned and their stomachs all growled as they realised he was right.

'We'll just compensate tomorrow... if we're able to get up for breakfast, that is.'

Cassy and Neville laughed tiredly as they entered the common room.

* * *

**Yay nor Nay? **

**I mixed it up a little, just to keep it interesting. I'm hoping it worked. **

**Neville's still shy and meek at this point, but as you can see, they're working on it! I'm going to allow Neville's character to grow through their friendship (so it will be quicker than Cannon, because he isn't forced into the events Harry is), rather than making it outgoing immediately.**

**I'm not really happy with this chapter, but it had to be done.**

**Thanks!**


	8. Truth be told

C. M. Black: Heart of a Lion

**Chapter VII: Truth be told**

The three friends were stationed around the large wooden table, dwarfed by the giant chairs they sat in. Hagrid's hut was, to Cassy, simply fascinating. The walls were wooden, stained dark like the furniture with tiny, square windows framed by yellow curtains. It had high ceilings in order to house the half-giant, but it need not have. Pots and pans, rope and various tools hung from it, making the man stoop each time he walked. Although they did not hang low enough to disturb the children, most fully grown human men would find it uncomfortable too.

They sat talking animatedly, hands clasped around mugs far too large for them. Hagrid was both a fantastic and an irritating audience. As they tried to recall the events of the previous night, he could gasp dramatically at exactly the right moment, then he would suddenly interrupt mid-sentence to scold them on their recklessness.

'Yeh three are very, very lucky, I tell yer,' he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

'I think it was quite unlucky we were there to begin with,' said Cassy, sipping her tea.

The cut on her face had heeled quickly due to the paste, but a long, thin cut was still visible. It had gained her many curious looks that morning, as well as many rumours and speculations. Cassy did not bother -and partially did not want to- tell them the truth, so she let them be, finding some of them terribly amusing.

'Yeah,' Neville laughed shakily, 'of all places to be and all times to miss an announcement, it just happened to where and when a troll attacked.'

'It's a little odd that a troll of all creatures was able to break into Hogwarts, isn't it? They are notoriously stupid.'

'Yeah, I was wondering about that too,' Neville said, looking at Cassy.

'I wonder what Quirrell was doing in the dungeons,' Harry added lightly.

'Things 'appen and it's a ruddy good thing Professor Quirrell did notice! Imagine what would have 'appened if the students went down after dinner and found the troll then,' Hagrid exclaimed.

Cassy shared a glance with the others, a similar thought crossing all of their minds. She stared at Harry, while Neville looked quickly from him to Hagrid, urging him to ask.

Harry pursed his lips and opened his mouth slowly.

'The announcement said the troll was in the dungeons, right?'

Hagrid nodded, picking up a lumpy cake and placed in on a little plate.

'Then...' Harry said slowly, 'would there be any reason for Snape to go to the third floor corridor?'

'What?' Hagrid said, sounding both alarmed and put-out by the question.

'W-we saw him, when we were waiting for Cassy and Hermione. He ran – well not really ran, but swooped – down the Forbidden Corridor- right before the troll appeared,' Neville said.

Hagrid regarded the three of them slowly, beady eyes squinting as he said, 'Why would Professor Snape be on the third floor?'

'Well, that is what we want to know,' Cassy said. 'There is no logical reason for it-'

'-unless he wants to get past that giant three-headed dog,' Harry added.

'Harry, how many times have I told you it is a Cerberus?' Cassy said, glancing over at him.

'A few, it's just easier to call it a dog though,' he said.

'Not when you insist on stating it's giant and has three heads it's not.'

'Wait-' Hagrid suddenly barked, brain finally passing the shock, '-you three know about Fluffy?'

'Fluffy? It's called _Fluffy_?' Neville gapped.

'Well, yeah. Named 'im meself.'

'Why Fluffy?' asked Harry.

'Yes, why Fluffy?' Cassy said, frowning. 'His coat looked to be of perfectly average length to me.'

'Cassy! That's hardly the problem,' Neville cried.

Harry laughed lightly as Cassy pretended not to hear. Neville was so caught up in his disbelief that he had stopped panicking and seemed to brighten up. Unsure of whether that was her intention, or just a positive effect of a strange comment, Harry shot her a smile, which she returned discreetly with a quirk of her lips.

'Well, he needs a name, don't he?' Hagrid said. 'Besides, he's a big softy really.'

Cassy and Harry blanched at the thought, almost afraid to ask Hagrid what it was that he considered dangerous.

'Is he yours then?' Harry questioned.

'Yeah, brought him off a Greek chap las' year. Quite hard to get a hold of, yeh know,' he replied cheerily.

I can imagine why, thought Cassy, her eyebrows rising as she sipped her tea again.

'So... has he always lived in the castle?' said Neville, his eyes wide.

'Oh no,' Hagrid said, waving his hand dismissively, 'I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the-'

The three watched with baited breath, leaning forward in their seats. Hagrid remained paused mid-motion before gathering his wits and standing up. 'Nevermind that, yeh three need to go to yer lessons, I expect they'll be startin' soon.'

'But Hagrid-!' protested the three loudly.

'No more questions, it doesn't matter. Jus' stay away from him, all right?' he said as he shoved them out his front door.

They heard the bolt go across the door and the curtains on the window closest were quickly drawn. They stood in silence for several moments before Cassy said, 'Well, that was the most suspicious thing I have ever seen.'

'We know it's guarding something for sure now and it's definitely what was in that vault. If Dumbledore's ordered for it to be hidden, it has to be valuable,' said Harry, moving to trek back up to the castle.

'You reckon Hagrid knows what it is?' Neville asked.

'Definitely, I think he was about to tell us.'

'How long do you think it will take for him to tell us?' Cassy said lightly, avoiding a large rock nestled in the grass. At her question, Harry looked thoughtful for a moment before it flicked to determination.

'I don't know,' he said, 'Hagrid can be pretty stubborn. Although, if we keep prying, he has to give us a clue.'

Neville looked dubious, not sharing in his friends' enthusiasm wholeheartedly at all. He let out a small groan, but did nothing to ward them off. He did not wish to admit it, but he too wanted to know just what a dog like Fluffy could be guarding in a school - as long as it did not involve going anywhere near the beast.

They walked into the Castle, unzipping their coats once they were several staircases up and the heat seeping out of the classrooms warmed the floors. They made it half way to the common room before Neville stopped dead.

'Oh no,' he whined, 'I haven't got my wand!'

'Did you leave it at Hagrid's?' Harry asked as he and Cassy noticed Neville fall behind.

'No, I don't think so. I probably left in Transfiguration.'

'We still have...' Cassy began, pulling out the gold chain from under her shirt. She flicked the pendent opened and looked at the tiny clock face. 'Twenty-minutes. That's plenty of time to get your wand.'

'McGonagall's going to kill me,' Neville moaned quietly, tilting his head back as Harry and Cassy smiled broadly, the former patting him in assurance.

As it was closest, they decided to try Professor McGonagall's office first. The woman was stern and observant, if Neville really had left his wand in her class rather than it slipping out on the way to Hagrid's, she would most likely have noticed and picked it up. She was not the type to leave such an object in a room unchecked. Her office door was shut and Harry held up his hand to knock, but then they could hear faint, muffled voices from within. One of the voices they identified as Professor McGonagall, another was lighter, yet lower and the final one was snappish and louder than the others.

Harry leant his head down towards the keyhole. Cassy and Neville waited several moments and refrained from speaking to allow Harry a chance to listen, but he suddenly shot up and backed away. Instinctively, they did the same just in time for the door to fling open. Ronald Weasley stomped out, red-faced and scowling. He slammed the door shut and turned to stalk down the corridor before he paused and quickly turned to face the trio.

'What are you lot doing here?' he snapped.

'We're here to see McGonagall,' Harry answered, frowning slightly at the other's tone. 'Why are you so angry?'

Cassy refrained from rolling her eyes, knowing it was a silly thing to ask. Instead, she kept a placid face, carefully watching the distance between Ronald and Harry.

'Because of Granger! She went and tattled over some stupid comment I made in charms,' he growled. 'Now I have a week's worth of detention for bullying and I didn't even do anything.'

'Making her cry is something,' Harry said icily. There was still no great like for Granger and the circumstances yesterday had changed little in his mind about her, but to make someone cry for being better than somebody else was not something he could ever accept. Even if it came from a friend and Ronald no longer counted as one of those.

Cassy considered telling him that it was them that informed the Professor, but decided against it. She knew Granger was smart and probably knew at least twice as many spells as Ronald. If any fight were to break out over this, it was clear who the victor would be. It might even teach Ronald not to bother her.

'What? Harry, you've seen how annoying she is, prancing around like she's perfect and oh-so-much smarter than everyone- look, don't pull that face. I never meant to make her cry. I don't know why I said it.'

'She is smarter that everyone, well except for Cassy. She's really smart too.'

Had Harry not been in an argument with a boy Cassy held no fondness for, she might have smiled. She kept a calm face as Ronald's eyes drifted over to her slowly, then to Neville before settling back on Harry.

Neville gave Cassy an unsure glance, but she did not look back.

'Harry,' Ronald said, his tone quieting, 'this is ridiculous. Can't we just me mates again? Proper mates?'

'I don't know, you still haven't done what I've asked.'

'But we got on great; we sat together for the entire train ride. Just because me and Bl- Cassy don't always get on doesn't mean we can't be friends.'

'Yes, but are you going to be nice to Cassy and Neville now? They're my friends too,' Harry said firmly and it was obvious he would not be moved on these requirements.

Ronald looked hesitantly at both Cassy and Neville; neither looked pleased at the idea of befriending the boy.

He opened his mouth slowly, breathing in deeply before saying, 'I didn't mean to upset you with whatever I said. It's just... the Malfoy's and the Black's are not nice people, they're huge You-Know-Who supporters... you can't blame me for being a bit...' He waved a hand, as if Harry knew what he would mean and looked towards Cassy. She did not understand why. It could easily have been for support, or to reiterate who she was, she was not sure.

'That didn't answer my question,' said Harry impatiently. Ronald's progress would have been welcomed a month ago, but Harry's patience had worn thin and his regret at having pushed the other away had faded. It had faded far too much try now and he had heard the same speech too many times to listen.

'Look – I just didn't trust her, but I'm trying.'

'I do trust her and I can't put up with this all the time,' Harry growled. 'I don't want to have to pick between you, but if you can't keep your comments about her family to yourself then I'll have to. I can't stand it when someone says something like that.'

'Blimey, I didn't mean to say those things, I was angry. I don't- didn't trust her because... Harry you don't know how odd it was for them to end up somewhere else. I didn't know how to react to her and I just said-'

'That seems to be your problem, Ron,' barked Harry. 'You don't appear to have a filter between your brain and your mouth.'

Cassy's eyes narrowed and she watched with a sharpened gaze. Fingers flexed at her side, ready to dart forward and grab her friend if she moved any closer to the other. Harry's own eyes had become slits and he stared at the youngest Weasley male hatefully, who just looked alarmed to be interrupted so aggressively. Ronald took a small step closer to Harry, but Harry shrugged off his hand.

'I was friends with you for two weeks and you said something that was completely out of line to Cassy, without even giving her a chance, about her family that she can't control. It made me _so_ angry, that you assumed you knew everything because you know a bit about her relatives. I've met many people like that before.'

He's not really talking about me, Cassy realised. The bitterness in his voice was prominent and reminiscent of the tone he used when describing his own relatives. While she did not know the details, it was clear that they had issues and Harry took the topic very seriously. Cassy wanted to know why, but dared not ask. It was not her place to.

'And you, Cassy,' he said, rounding on her, 'you don't help things. If you just didn't respond then Ron wouldn't have a need to keep going! Sure what you say is generally less insulting, but it makes things worse. You won't apologise even though you know what I mean, at least Ron doesn't!'

Cassy pursed her lips, eyes flicking to Ronald, who looked shocked. She nodded slowly, showing she understood.

'I know he aggravates you and upsets you, but if you were to leave it things wouldn't be this bad. I want to be friends with both of you. Not one of you.'

Her eyes moved to meet Ronald's again and he stared back with a hard expression. Slowly, he reached one hand upwards and he took a step forward. He said, 'I can't promise it will stop completely, but I can try.'

Looking down at the offered hand, Cassy pursed her lips and raised her own. 'I will try and let things go, but don't think this means that I'll let you get away with everything.'

'I'm not completely dumb, I know you well enough to know you won't be able to hold your tongue for too long, 'Ronald snorted.

'Longer than you can hold yours.'

Neville gapped, looking as if he was about to say something, but instead he just turned to Harry. The other wore an extremely relieved face, his features loosening and his eyes closing. There was no doubt in Neville's mind that Harry had not really expected his words to get through to them, but they had, somewhat.

Neither Cassy nor Ronald appeared to be ready to say anything else. They had not apologised so much as called a truce and that was as good as it was going to get for the moment. It was better than either expected.

'Better,' said Harry. 'Now we just need to work on you two being friends.'

'One step at a time,' Cassy mumbled, making Neville smile and Ronald scoff.

'I still hate bullies, so if you two start again-'

'Yes, yes,' waved Cassy. 'I am sure by now both Ronald and myself understand. We won't fight... in front of you.'

'_At all_,' Harry insisted.

'I don't know,' mumbled Ronald, 'in front of you seems like a good place to start.'

'You three are my friends, I'd like to keep it that way. You're the only ones I've got and I'm glad this is over. I don't have many to lose you see.' Harry smiled at the three of them, before his eyebrows rose pointedly.

'...I've never really had friends before,' Neville admitted. 'And this is probably one of the strangest combinations we could have gone for.'

'Neither have I,' Harry mumbled.

'Wonderful, we all have something in common,' she said, making the other three look at her curiously. 'We are all socially awkward.'

Harry and Neville laughed merrily, Ronald snorted slightly and look to his left, away from everyone. Perhaps it was because of the same feeling Cassy had gained, a dull sort of pressure in her stomach that they needed to make this work, despite still disliking each other immensely, but Cassy could not be certain. After all, with Ronald's limited facial expressions, she could not always tell what he was feeling because half the time it looked the same.

'Well, I happen to rather like our group of loners,' Harry said, smiling.

Cassy smiled back, but it was tinged with uncertainty as her insides whirled uncomfortably for a different reason. She had never really had anyone stand up for her before Harry and Neville, the concept was new to her and acknowledging the two as friends in her head was different from saying it out loud. Neville and Harry looked to be having similar thoughts, but Neville looked encouraged by it and Harry appeared liberated.

The door opened and Professor Dumbledore wandered out, eyeing them brightly.

'Ah, you three are in good spirits today, I see,' he said gently.

'Yes, Sir. How are you?' Cassy said, earning a wider smile from him.

'I am well, Miss Black. Thank-you for asking.'

'Is there a reason you three are outside my office?' a voice sounded from inside the room. Professor McGonagall peered at them questioningly, holding a thin object between her fingers.

'My wand! Thank-you, Professor,' Neville cried, taking his wand.

'Now, you four best be off before you are late. Gryffindor cannot afford to lose even a single point because of your tardiness!'

They bid their good-byes and hurriedly made their way to Herbology, which was held in one of the greenhouses on the grounds. They made it across the grass easily arrived early, triumphantly noting that it only took them five minutes to get from the office to the farthest greenhouse.

'If only we could get everywhere that quickly,' Neville said wistfully.

Herbology was not a taxing lesson, which went over well with the three friends because it was their last lesson of the week as it was, but now their thoughts kept drifting back to what Hagrid had said. As soon as Ronald turned to join Dean and Finnigan at their desk, where he had been working over the past few weeks, they began whispering. Hagrid, as brilliant as he was, was completely incapable of keeping anything to himself. With a little more prying, they were sure they could find out what was below the trap door without actually having to go down their themselves, although Cassy and Harry were not completely against the idea, Neville protested adamantly.

'They're not doing a very good job of hiding it though, are they?' Cassy said as she plucked the dead leaves off the plant.

'I know, everyone knows something is there. I heard that Filch is going to be permanently in the corridor now because of how many people keep going to look,' said Harry, quickly tugging the leaves of his own plant off when he could catch them; it wriggled away from him as he hands drew near. Neville's, however, purred and suddenly shuddered, losing all of its dead leaves at once. At the other end of the greenhouse, Professor Sprout cheered and clapped her hands.

'Ten points to Gryffindor!'

Neville blushed shyly as people turned to look. He grabbed another porcelain pot, leaning closer to Cassy and Harry.

'Can you imagine their surprise when they see Fluffy though?'

'Yes,' Cassy said.

'Probably as surprised as when we saw him,' Harry murmured, frowning at his plant.

'Only probably more weary afterwards – Neville, are you sure you do not want to see him, even just for a second?'

Neville shook his head furiously, turning paler at the idea of it.

Cassy and Harry shared an amused look, the former saying, 'Just teasing, Neville.'

'Yeah, we don't really want to go near him again at the moment,' Harry added.

'At the moment...' Neville repeated sombrely. Harry just leant past Cassy to pat the other boy on the back.

The lesson ended quickly after that. Everyone fled the greenhouse quickly, eager to get back into the castle, where at least the Great Hall and the common rooms would be heated. The temperature had dropped rapidly over the past week and it began to rain more frequently, frost covered the grounds in the morning and darkness swept over them in early evening. As the time neared for Harry's first game, the weather had taken a turn for the worse and only seemed to be rivalled in darkness by Harry's mood.

'Lovely weather to play Quidditch in,' Cassy commented as the ceiling of the Great Hall changed to reflect the heavy rainfall outside.

'I'm definitely going to fall,' Harry said with finality, 'maybe even die.'

'You won't. You're the youngest seeker in a century, I'm sure you'll do great,' Neville said brightly.

'You weren't even there to see me.'

'You were good, if a little reckless,' Cassy said, cutting him off before he had a chance to really begin whining. 'It is really rare for someone to die in school games.'

'What about professional games?'

'It most frequently happens at the World Cup when people are really out to win it.'

Harry sunk in his seat farther, not at all encouraged by the pair. He looked over to his left just in time to see two red-heads bounding up to him.

'Harry,' said the one that stopped on his left.

'Practise tomorrow, remember,' said the other.

'Don't be late, Wood will skin you.'

Harry groaned loudly and buried his head into his arms. The two third-years looked at him curiously before glancing up at Cassy and Neville.

'He's panicking about the match next Saturday,' Cassy said.

They stared at her for several moments.

'You must be Black, I'm Fred,' the one on the left said.

'I'm George,' said the other.

Cassy did not say anything for a moment and neither did they. Her eyes trailed from one twin to the other slowly. Harry and Neville were both watching, their gaze resting heavily on her.

'Pleasure to meet you,' she said eventually.

The twins nodded back politely, before turning to Neville and greeting him as well. They looked back to Harry, clapping a hand on either one of his shoulders.

'Now, we've heard you and dear Ronnikins have had a falling out,' Fred said, seating himself on the bench, back against the table.

'Not so much heard as we had it screamed at us,' George said, copying his brother's actions.

'Yeah, he hadn't shut up about it either. Spent the last hour raving about how unfair it was.'

Harry sat, head inclined towards the table and lips pursed.

'We fell out because he makes fun of everyone. We sorted it out though, as long as he and Cassy can behave near each other, I think it will be fine,' Harry said.

'Ah, yes,' said Fred.

'Sounds like Ron,' Said George.

'He can be quite a git, can't he?'

'He's not all bad though.'

'We don't really care if you two are talking; it's not our business-'

'We just grateful he'll stop talking to us about it!'

'At least he can see we tried, even if he didn't need us anymore.'

'And even if we haven't _really _tried at all.'

Harry said nothing to that, knowing they were right and having decided the fate of the group earlier, there was nothing else to be said. He was staring so intently at the table; he did not notice the twin's eyes dart over to Cassy. They said nothing, their expressions not giving away anything either as it was not distaste that filled their eyes, but it was not kindness either. The three just shared a look of complete indifference.

'Anyway, we must go,' George said, heaving himself up.

'Yes, we only came to remind you because Oliver asked us to,' Fred agreed.

'Ta-ta!' they chorused, wandering out the hall and out of sight.

'Lovely to know Ronald talks about me,' Cassy said sarcastically.

'They didn't seem angry with you though,' said Neville, finally taking a bite out of his pie.

'Fred and George are nice, I like them,' Harry admitted. 'They're funny and joke a lot.'

Fred and George reappeared frequently over the next week. It was usually to talk to Harry about Quidditch practise rather than Ronald, who was keeping up well on his promise to try. They did not see him much, however, as Dean and Finnigan seemed to have taken him under their wing in the time the four spent apart. He would talk and laugh with them at lunches and dinner, but other than that it was unusual for him to join them at all. Neville often told her that he spoke openly with Harry and him in the dormitories, but Cassy had yet to really see it.

Perhaps, Cassy thought, that is why is was so easy for him to promise because he knew he would never really see me.

Friday was cold and bitter, with clouded skies and frosted grounds. The weather was speedily getting worse and everyone had already taken to wearing gloves and scarves nearly everywhere. The castle had little heating; only the open fires in the common rooms and the charms placed on individual rooms, meaning the corridors and staircases were particularly freezing first thing in the morning.

Out on the grounds, Cassy, Harry and Neville were climbing up the steep stone path slowly. It was coated in thin ice, barely visible in the light mist that coated the grounds that morning. Their arms were all interlinked, even though they felt a little silly, in hope that if one was to fall, the others would be able to keep them on their feet. Once they reached the courtyard, they realised their hope was in vain.

'Who slipped?' Harry groaned, pushing himself up to sit on the stone.

'I don't know,' Cassy and Neville said together. Cassy rolled onto her back, sat up and rubbed her maroon gloves together to rid them of any tiny stones. Neville just lay there and moaned.

'What's that, Potter?' a slow, nasally voice sounded from across the yard.

The three looked up to see Professor Snape limping over to them, the same perpetual scowl as always.

'Quidditch Through the Ages,' Harry said, showing him the cover. Harry had picked up the book earlier that week from the Library, remembering how Hermione Granger had been talking about it before their first flying lesson. Harry actually rather enjoyed the book, when it was not being shouted at him by a shrilly twelve-year-old. Professor Snape seemed to have noticed and quickly stooped to snatch the book from Harry's hands.

'Books are not allowed on the grounds, Potter, especially by someone so careless. Five points from Gryffindor.'

Harry gapped and he scowled at the retreating man's back until he was out of sight.

'I didn't mean to fall over. The book wasn't even damaged anyway,' Harry hissed, quickly getting to his feet. 'He probably just made that rule up to spite me.'

Cassy and Neville also got to their feet, brushing off their coats and looking expectantly at Harry.

'Are you going to try and get it back?' Neville asked as they walked carefully through the halls and up towards the common room to retrieve their bags for the next lesson.

'After lessons, maybe. He can't refuse if I catch him in the staff room, can he?'

'I'm sure he would try,' Cassy said before giving the password.

Harry went alone that evening, while Cassy coached Neville through changing the colour of an object. She set the yellow vase in front of him as they sat at a small table in the corner of the common room.

'This should not be too difficult,' Cassy said, 'It's all one colour and has a smooth shape.' She nodded for him to start and Neville drew his wand shakily. He tapped it, but nothing happened. He tried again and again before sighing, slumping back in his chair and dropping his wand down on the table.

'I can't,' he said. 'It's hopeless.'

'It is not hopeless, Neville. Maybe you are simply too nervous. Ones magic responds to emotions, you know.'

'Maybe...'

Cassy picked up her own wand and handed it to Neville, saying, 'Try with mine.'

Neville took a deep breath and tapped the vase. Colour began to bleed into it and the yellow paint began to darken into a murky green on the side closest to Neville. His eyes widened.

'You felt more relaxed, didn't you?' Cassy smiled. 'Because it was my wand and you knew I could do the spell already. You felt more at ease.'

Neville said nothing, but the corners of his lips began to quirk up.

'You should be able to do it much better with your own wand.'

Neville looked up questioningly as Cassy took her wand back. She was not looking immediately, instead turning the vase to see the true extent of the change.

'What do you mean?' he asked.

Cassy looked at him dazed for a moment, before her mind backtracked to what she had just said.

'Oh, I thought you would know, I apologise,' she said. 'A person's wand only works to its full potential with the person it chooses. That's why everyone has to test wands before they buy them, to make sure it will work well for them – what is with that face?'

'N-nothing,' Neville spluttered, looking down in his lap. He fiddled with his wand.

'Neville?' Cassy said quietly after several minutes, making him look up suddenly. 'Would you like to try again?'

He nodded slowly. Neville raised his wand and jabbed at the vase. Again, nothing happened.

'You have done it once, you can do it again,' Cassy encouraged, smiling lightly at him.

Neville nodded and frowned, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration. This time, the vase did change and a dull brown streamed across the porcelain.

'Yes!' he cried, slumping back into his chair.

'See?' Cassy beamed, earning a grin in return.

Neville ran his fingers over the blotchy colouring, looking up at Cassy every few seconds as if to make sure she had seen him do it too, even though he knew she had. He readied his wand again.

The room quietened slightly as the portrait hole was flung open, but it quickly picked up again when many people noticed who it was.

'Harry!' Neville called, waving the other over.

Harry rushed over and dropped into a seat next to them, flushed and panting. 'You- you will never believe what I just saw.'

The urgency in his tone caused Cassy and Neville leaned closer and Harry spoke in a low whisper. 'Well, I went to the staffroom and there was no answer, so I opened the door to see if he had left it in there. Snape was in there, I know why he's limping,' he murmured and the other two raised their eyebrows, urging him to continue. 'He has a massive cut on his leg. It's a bite from Fluffy.'

'How do you know it's from Fluffy?' Cassy asked, eyes narrowing in thought.

'He said it, well, basically. He was asking Filch how someone is supposed to keep an eye on all three heads at once. Not many things around here have three heads!'

'So... so you reckon it was Snape who let in the troll at Halloween?' Neville gasped.

'I'm sure of it.'

'He does seem the type. Although, he's now going to be even worse to you in lessons,' Cassy said, leaning back.

'I don't think he can get much worse. How come he isn't like that to you?' Harry whined.

'It's my spectacular personality, you're just infuriating.'

Harry snorted, muttering 'Yeah, right'.

'We can always pester Hagrid about it tomorrow after your match, he might be more likely to say something if we raise suspicions, even if it is just to prove us wrong.'

'O-oh,' Harry groaned loudly. 'I'd forgotten about Quidditch...' He slumped down onto the table, chin resting on his arms.

'Relax, you'll be great,' cheered Neville.

Harry simply grunted before his eyebrows crinkled down, not in annoyance, but rather confusion.

'What's with that vase?' he asked, unfolding himself so he could get a closer look.

'Neville was practising his colour changing charm,' said Cassy.

'Oh, good job, Neville.'

'Don't lie,' Neville snorted. 'It's coloured like vomit.'

Cassy and Harry burst into laughter, surprised, but able to see his point. Harry set the vase back down and rubbed his eyes. 'That wasn't my first thought, but okay.'

The three went to bed sometime later, heads reeling despite their previous easy conversation. Cassy lay awake for a long time, thoughts and theories flitting across her mind. She knew Harry was most likely awake as well, but Neville had the ability to push thoughts aside and sleep no matter what the circumstances, so she did not bother to worry about him. She closed her eyes, forcing her mind to slow. She awoke the next morning, earlier than the rest of the girls and headed down to the common room, coat slung over her arm. Exiting the staircase, she instantly spotted two familiar mops of blond and black hair.

'You two are up early,' she said, sitting in an armchair next to the sofa they occupied.

'Morning, Cassy,' Neville said brightly, even though he was patting Harry's shoulder gently.

'Good-morning,' Harry mumbled, hunched over.

'What is wrong, Harry?' Cassy asked, but he just shook his head and buried it deeper into his hands.

'Nerves,' said Neville to Cassy. 'He woke up the entire room this morning pacing around before he came down here.'

'Harry, how long have you been up?'

'Swinssiss,' he slurred into his palms.

'Excuse me?'

'Since six,' he said louder.

Cassy nodded, deciding that was not too bad. She had hoped Harry's sour mood was down to lack of sleep, something not ideal for a Quidditch game, but Harry had not loosened up by the time they went down for breakfast at eight.

'Harry, we've been here for an hour and half and you have not eaten anything,' Cassy said, nudging the toast rack towards him. 'You have to eat something or you will feel sick.'

'I'm not hungry. I feel sick already.'

'It will improve your flying; you will be steadier if you are not ill.'

Harry stuck a slice of toast into his mouth at last.

At ten o'clock, Harry had been ushered off by the rest of the Quidditch team. Cassy and Neville waved as other first years call out encouragingly, although Finnigan shouted a sheepish apology after telling him not to die once he had seen the deathly stare Cassy shot him. An hour later, they all piled into the stands, which stood tall and decorated in the colours of each house respectively.

The first years stood at the back, where the highest seats were, a banner held between them with a lion, courtesy of Dean, and "Potter for President" flashing between red and gold every few seconds.

'Do you think he'll be okay? I mean, he's a brilliant flier, but he looked as if he was about to be sick this morning,' Dean said from next to Cassy.

'I hope so,' she replied. 'He is really nervous.'

'This is the first Quidditch match I've ever seen. Harry better make it a good one!'

Cassy laughed as she turned towards the pitch. People started cheering and clapping as the Gryffindor Quidditch team filled out onto the pitch, brooms slung over shoulders. Cassy hoped Harry could see their banner.

They stood in formation, Madam Hooch hovering above them on a broom of her own, giving them instructions. Suddenly, the whistle was blown and everyone shot into action.

'And the Quaffle is immediately taken by Angelina-' Lee Jorden, a third year and friend of the Weasley twins, commentated. Angelina Johnson was one of the Gryffindor Chasers and it was evident she was good. She was up the pitch in a second, throwing the Quaffle to Alicia Spinnet and back again before it was taken by a Slytherin Chaser, who shot in the other direction. He was stopped by a Bludger sent by one of the Weasley twins, both of which were Beaters for the team and Johnson took possession again.

Gryffindor erupted into a roar of screams and applause as she scored. There was a low, rumble from the Slytherin stand.

'C'mon, move over.'

Cassy turned at the voice, she and Neville quickly spotted Hagrid moving along the stand towards them. Hagrid sat on the isle step, sighing in content.

'Good-morning,' Cassy greeted from Neville's other side. 'Have you come to watch Harry?'

'Yeah. Been watchin' from me hut, but it's not the same as bein' in the crowd,' he said, twiddling with a pair of binoculars that hung from his neck.

'He hasn't done much yet, though. No sign of the snitch from either Seeker,' Neville said, looking to where Harry hovered above the rest.

Harry suddenly moved to the left, just as a Bludger streaked past.

'Almost,' Dean said, looking through his own pair of binoculars.

'Almost? Whose side are you on?' said Cassy, jokingly.

Dean looked down and grinned, 'Harry's. Don't worry about that. I wouldn't want you to hex me.'

Cassy smiled broadly, looking back up at her flying friend.

'Was that the Snitch?' Jordan suddenly gasped, sending ripples of chatter through the crowd. It must have been, for Harry was off. He streaked past the other players, Slytherin's Seeker right beside him.

Cassy's eyes widened, spotting Flint only seconds before he dived. He collided with Harry and the smaller of the two was sent careering off to the side, spinning.

'Foul! Red card, red card!' Dean roared.

Cassy had no idea what he meant and it seemed as if many of the Gryffindor's did not either, as they turned to look at him questioningly.

'Red card? What do you mean?' Ronald asked, eyebrows furrowed.

'In football you can get a red card and the player is sent off.'

Quidditch had no such rule, despite having seven-hundred ways to foul another player.

Gryffindor got a penalty shot, taken by Spinnet, giving them another ten points.

Cassy looked back up to Harry, who had repositioned himself high above the game. He wavered, swaying side to side slowly. Suddenly, the broom jerked, jolting Harry forward.

'Neville, look!' Cassy said loudly, pointing up at Harry, who was being thrown back and forth as if he was riding a bucking bull.

'What's he doing?' Neville asked, turning to Hagrid.

'Well,' he said, looking with his giant binoculars, 'if I didn' know better... I'd say... he's lost control of his broom. He can' have though; Nimbus Two Thousands are top of the range.'

They watched with baited breath and they were now not the only ones. Everyone had noticed, eyes facing upwards and mouths open. Cassy breathed in sharply as Harry's broom bucked violently and he was thrown forwards. He held on with one hand, dangling helplessly fifty-feet in the air.

'How – What... Did Flint do something... do you think...?' Neville asked desperately, looking from Cassy to Hagrid.

'Can't 'ave,' mumbled the half-giant, 'only powerful Dark Magic can make a broom do tha'.'

Moving rapidly, Cassy's eyes landed on something that made her mind reel. The teachers sat in their stand, many with hands over mouths or pulling at each other's coats every time it looked as if Harry might fall. Except, the surprise did not extend to all staff.

'Dean,' she said suddenly, 'hand me your binoculars.' He did and she pressed them to her eyes for a moment before thrusting them into his chest.

'Cassy?' he said, raising his eyebrows, but she did not turn to him, instead, she pushed past Neville and stepped around Hagrid.

'Cassy? Where yeh going?' Hagrid called.

'I recognise this magic. I can stop him falling!' she shouted back, disappearing from their sight under one of the heavy drapes.

She ran on the wooden catwalk underneath the seats and skidded to a halt under the benches holding the teachers. Drawing her wand, she pointing it at a row and flicked it quickly. The teachers stood suddenly, squeaking and alarmed as a second row stood. Soon all the teachers were on their feet and patting their seats and questioning one another.

Cassy hurried back down the path before anyone thought to look under the benches. Poking her head out from behind a drape, she looked up at Harry, who was now climbing back on his broom.

'Cassy,' Neville called as he noticed her reappear, 'what did you do, where did you go?'

'I shocked them,' she said, manoeuvring around Hagrid.

'What?'

'I zapped the teachers.'

'Yeh what?' Hagrid exclaimed.

'There he goes,' Cassy said, not bothering to answer him.

Harry sped off towards the ground, closer and closer. A hand was flung to his mouth and he tumbled off suddenly, causing a chorus of "oohs". He rolled over, pushing himself up and convulsed.

Everyone craned to try and get a better look, but from the stands very little was visible.

'What is he doing?' Neville squeaked. 'He just dived at the floor.'

Cassy thought for a moment that, perhaps, she had attacked the wrong people, but then Harry held up a hand.

'Potter's got the Snitch,' Jordan suddenly roared. 'Gryffindor wins!'

Cassy blinked before laughing. The others looked around puzzled.

'He caught it with his mouth. He almost swallowed it.'

Neville sighed in relief and Hagrid began to clap and cheer loudly with the rest of the house.

As soon as they could reach him, Harry was quickly ushered away to Hagrid's hut as soon in the short interval when team stopped smothering him to cheer with the others. He had not even changed out of his Quidditch uniform before Hagrid had plucked him up and directed him away from the pitch, Cassy and Neville followed cheerfully.

'Are yeh sure yer all right, Harry? Yeh hit the ground pretty hard,' Hagrid said, handing him a large mug of tea.

'I'm fine; I'm just surprised I lost control like that.'

'I do not think you did,' Cassy said quietly.

'What do you mean?'

Cassy looked at the three seriously. 'One of the teachers was jinxing your broom.'

'Rubbish!' Hagrid exclaimed. 'No teacher would harm a student.'

'You said it yourself, Hagrid, that it had to be someone powerful to do something like that.' Cassy looked at him imploringly, glancing over to Neville and Harry. 'Magic like that requires the user to be looking at the object constantly. There were only two people in that stand who were not blinking and were certainly not looking away.'

'Who?' Harry asked, but he already had an idea who one of them had to be.

'...Professor Snape-'

'I knew it,' Harry and Neville said together.

'And... Professor Quirrell.'

'What?' they both said dumbly.

'I know, I know. It seems absurd, doesn't it? I noticed Professor Snape first, he was the first one I looked towards, but... as I looked, I noticed Professor Quirrell on the bench behind and he was not blinking either.'

There was a long silence.

'Quirrell?' Harry suddenly burst. 'I thought you said only powerful wizards can cast spells like that. Quirrell can't fight his way out of a paper bag!'

'Yes, I know,' Cassy said, rubbing her temples with her thumb and forefingers fingers.

'Maybe he was frozen in shock,' Neville suggested, making Harry snort.

'Stop, just stop,' Hagrid interrupted hotly. 'No teacher is trying to kill Harry.'

'Snape would,' said Harry.

'No, no, he wouldn't.'

Neville nodded, but not in agreement with Hagrid. 'Out of Quirrell and Snape, I'd wager it would be Snape.'

'An' why would he try and do somethin' like that, ay? Tell me that,' Hagrid said irritably.

Harry looked to Cassy and Neville, before deciding to tell him what their theory.

'We think he may be trying to steal whatever Fluffy is guarding.'

'Well, like we told you last time, he was going to there when the troll invaded,' said Cassy.

'And he has a nasty bite on his leg. Proves he must have tried to get past it,' Harry jumped in.

'Rubbish, I don' believe it,' Hagrid shook his head roughly. 'I don't know why yer broom would have bucked, but it wasn't a teacher. They're helpin' in guardin' it, so they're not gonna try an' steal it. Yeh three need to forget everything about it, all right? It ain't yer business. It's strictly between Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel so leave it be.'

The three were silent and Hagrid suddenly went very pale. The children shared a look of triumph with each other before scooting their chairs back and bidding their good-byes.

'Thanks for the tea, Hagrid,' Harry said as he pushed open the door, 'but we better make a move. Lots of homework.'

They ran full pelt towards the castle, leaving Hagrid cursing himself in his hut.

* * *

**Seems a little mushy at points doesn't it? However, they are eleven and each other's first friends. Children always spout how they're going to be best friends forever, right? So, yeah...**

**I have made some changes to this, you may see. Ron is no longer cut out, but simply pushed backwards. He and Cassy are not on the best of terms still, but they're making some sort of an effort for Harry's sake. Ron will pop in and out. On a future note, he will play a key part in the CoS one I am going to be doing, so fear not.**

**As you may have noticed, this is primarily from Cassy's view (although, written in third person), so there will be bits of the books missed and others added in. Does it help to keep it interesting? This story is about her and her role in life, so I'll miss things she isn't present for and add things she is.**

**Thanks!**


	9. Family invitations

C. M. Black: Heart of a Lion

**Chapter VIII: Family invitations**

The next month passed quickly and before anyone had time to really realise it, it was already mid-December. Between Quidditch and homework, the three found they had little time to spend looking up Flamel, but that did not mean they had not tried.

Hagrid had been mortified when he realised they were actually looking for information on Flamel, rather than simply basking in the glory of being told something they were not supposed to know. He had growled loudly, dropping the tree down onto the stone flooring and shaking snow everywhere. The three hurried up the staircase, grinning and attracting a lot of attention from students who looked between them and Hagrid anxiously.

After that, whenever they past him, he would try and pin them in to explain how dangerous the game of theirs was, but he was unsuccessful. More times than not, they just ran away, bolting in the opposite direction with broad smiles on their faces and paying no heed to his shouts. On the one occasion he did corner and haul them – more Neville, but the other two followed because they could not leave him to bare the brunt of it all - into his hut, they escaped mid-way through under the table and out the back door. The conversation was running in circles and Cassy and Harry had already decided that they were going to determine what was through the trap door regardless. However, they all agreed to apologise once they knew who Flamel was and what he did.

The task itself was slow moving and with no leads and many wasted weekends, of the free ones they did have, in the library; the search was proving fruitless.

'I'll try the library at home,' Cassy said as they traipsed down to the Great Hall. 'We have a lot of obscure books.'

'I can try mine too,' said Neville. 'I'd ask Gran, but she'd ask too many questions.'

'I'd love to, but I don't have my own library,' snorted Harry.

He knew Cassy had a lot of money, that much was evident from her clothing, but Neville surprised him somewhat. They boy did not have the mannerisms Cassy had. He was too shy to hold himself with a flat back and high head. His voice stuttered and stumbled, while she spoke clearly and to the point. Harry debated pointing it out, but none of them liked to talk about their home lives much and Harry could appreciate that.

'You can check here,' Neville said.

'We've already looked everywhere we can think of.'

'Then branch out and find the unexpected,' Cassy said, smothering her toast in jam once they had been seated. For a moment, she thought Harry had realised her meaning, but his face went from thoughtful to confused in three seconds.

After breakfast, Cassy and Neville were going to return home for the holidays, while Harry had signed up, one of the only ones to do so, to stay at Hogwarts over Christmas. The only other Gryffindors staying were the Weasley family, who had been over heard talking about their parents going to visit their brother in Romania for Christmas.

Harry's heart had sunk slightly at the idea of Cassy and Neville leaving, but tried not to show it. They noticed, however, and Cassy had pointed out he was a terrible liar – Harry denied this, not noticing Neville's head nodding vehemently in agreement with Cassy all the while. They promised to write and send gifts once they were home. It was not that Harry felt upset about having no one to return to, but rather that he was going to miss the two when they were gone.

'Do try and enjoy yourself somewhat,' Cassy said as she and Neville made to leave. They stood near the entrance, off to the side, out of the way of the hoards of students passing with their large trunks.

'I will,' he promised.

'We'll see you when we get back. Merry Christmas,' Neville smiled.

'Merry Christmas.'

They turned at the sound of Hagrid as he tried to usher the students out of the courtyard and down the path to Hogsmead. With one last smile, Cassy and Neville began to walk away and were quickly out of sight behind one of the stone pillars.

'I feel bad,' Neville said for the fourth time since they had realised Harry was staying for the Holidays.

'I know, but he would rather be here than with his Muggle family.'

'Yeah, I know...'

They walked along the beaten path and into the forest, moving with the crowd, which travelled in small clusters at their own paces. Pushing their way forward, they stopped at the back of a large wooden cart before helping one another to pull their belongings onto it and hopped up themselves.

'Thestrals,' breathed Neville, suddenly.

'Excuse me?' asked Cassy, following his line of sight towards the front of the cart. She saw nothing, but Neville was still staring intently.

'Gran told me they used them to pull the carriages, but this is the first time I've seen one in person,' he said, edging closer to the front and leaning over. He reached his hand out and quickly drew it back again, appearing to have changed his mind.

'Neville,' Cassy said slowly and quietly, 'you can see Thestrals?'

He blinked at her. Looking back at the blank space in front of them, he nodded, 'It wasn't anything terrible. I've been able to see them for a few years now because I saw my Granddad die. I was playing on the floor with him, checkers, actually, when he fell asleep during a conversation and died. Just like that. Don't worry about it.'

Cassy leant back slightly and hesitantly asked, 'What do they look like?'

Staring intently ahead, he said: 'Like horses, only larger. Their faces look a bit like Dragon heads... their eyes are white... just white...'

The conversation was dropped as other first-years climbed into their cart. It soon pulled away and Cassy stared to the side of her, reluctant to take her eyes from where the Thestrals were and Neville did the same, only he had something to really look at.

They boarded the train quickly, finding the first free compartment and hauling their belongings inside. Not having the strength to lift the trunks high enough to slot into the overhead shelves, they hovered them upwards and in, before Cassy stood on her seat to manually wedge Crin's cage in the small space left over. He squawked at her and ruffled his feathers.

'Y'know, I don't see your owl much. We see Hedwig all the time, though,' Neville said as he slid the compartment door closed.

'Crin does not like Harry. He becomes noisy and aggressive when he's near, so he usually doesn't visit me in the Great Hall. He sleeps in my dormitory a lot.'

They played Exploding Snape with smoking cards and were forced to open a window after three rounds. The lady with the trolley told them off when she opened the door and smoke filled the corridor. Abandoning that, they simply talked, conversation drifting back to the trap door before speculating about Christmas gifts.

Although the most obvious way to pass the time, neither really wanted to play chess, despite both of them having a set in their trunks. Neville was terrible at it and the pieces tended to shout abuse at him or stomp off the board before they could get smashed, whenever he played. Harry had found this all greatly amusing and enjoyed watching them play. He particularly enjoyed watching when Neville used his own set - on the rare occasions he did so - instead Cassy's white set, because the set Cassy most often used were hilarious to contrast. Neville's were polite, clapping when an opponent took one of their pieces, however, Cassy's hurled abuse at everyone who walked past and gave tremendous roars of triumph when they knocked another piece down. By the end of it, many of Neville's ended up either wailing or leaving.

The sun was soon setting and the grey concrete of London was beginning to flash past the window, when a voice announced: 'Attention students, the train will be arriving at Platform Nine and Three-quarters in five minutes. Please made sure to remove all belongings as you exit the train.' The message was short and courteous, each syllable pronounced in the same dull tone Cassy remembered from her first train journey.

Cassy stood up and climbed onto her seat again, dislodging her owl and hovering her trunk to the ground. Although magic was not allowed outside of school, the train was still counted as part of the property, thus they could not be penalised for it. Which, to many, was wonderful, because otherwise they would have to struggle with their luggage and could no longer infuriate their friends for the six hour ride as effectively.

'That was quick,' Neville said. 'It felt like forever getting to school.'

'Anticipation,' Cassy answered, jumping down.

They waited for the rush to go lessen before sliding their door open. Neville's trunk became lodged in the gap between the step and the platform, tipping him over and Cassy was fairly sure he had squashed Trevor in the fall. She stuck out a hand and heaved him up. Dragging their trunks further onto the platform, they stopped in an empty area and peered around.

'Do you see your uncle?' Neville asked.

'No. Do you see your Grandmother?'

'No.' Neville dropped his trunk flat on the ground and then stood on it, giving himself a boost to see over the stooping robed figure that filled their vision. After a minute, he exclaimed, 'Oh! There she is.'

He waved and a tall, stern looking woman turned to face them. She had white hair pulled back into a tight bun, broad brimmed hat and a long, navy coat. Marching over, she stared at her grandson disapprovingly, clicking her fingers and pointing at the ground. Neville hopped off with pink-tinged cheeks.

'Neville,' she stated.

'Hullo, Gran. This is Cassy,' Neville said brightly, motioning to her with his hand.

'Pleasure to meet you,' Cassy said, a taught smile upon her lips.

'Miss Black,' Mrs. Longbottom said evenly. As soon as her eyes were back on her grandson, Cassy began looking around again, still not spotting her uncle. There were many people she did recognise mixed amongst the people she did not. Near the barrier stood the Browns, judging by the short man's similarity to Lavender, and next to them stood the Patils. Yet, Cassy saw no one of use.

I do not even see Narcissa, she thought, although, that may be favourable.

'Alone, Miss Black? Where is your family?' Mrs. Longbottom said suddenly, making Cassy turn back to her again.

'I am sure I will find my uncle soon. Do not feel obligated to stay for me, ma'am.'

'Nonsense, it would be poor manners to leave my grandson's friend alone. Especially one like yourself.'

Cassy wondered if that was aimed at her being female or because she came from a powerful and rich heritage. She did not think about it much longer because a familiar glimpse of green caught her eye.

'Cassy,' a low and smooth voice said as her eyes met Alphard's, 'Mrs. Longbottom.' He nodded at her and she returned it. Grey eyes flitted to Neville, who squirmed nervously.

'This is my friend, Neville Longbottom,' Cassy introduced, although she knew Alphard had already worked out who the boy was.

Alphard held out his hand and Neville gapped, trembling slightly as he took it. 'Nice to finally meet you, Mr. Longbottom. Cassy has written to me about you many times.' Neville smiled shakily and squeaked back a similar comment.

After loading her trunk into a trolley and assisting Neville with his own, Alphard said, 'Come, Cassy. We should be leaving now, dinner will be ready soon.'

Cassy smiled at Neville, who muttered back a brief good-bye, and nodded to Mrs. Longbottom before following her uncle through the barrier. Alphard pushed the trolley to the station doors, parking it to the side with the others and handed Crin's cage to Cassy. They walked slowly, the uneven slabs of London's crowded sidewalk catching on the underside of the trunk. They arrived back at the manor and pushed open the door to the smell of roast lamb. The warm air of the house was welcoming and Cassy quickly hung up her coat and tucked her shoes into the rack before strolling into the kitchen.

'Good evening, Plumb, Kitsy,' she said, making both elves jump.

'Miss!' the smaller elf cried, launching at her. She wrapped herself around Cassy's leg while the older one looked on, disapproving.

'Plumb, let go of Miss,' Kitsy commanded. He wiped his hands on a tea-towel and hopped down from his own stool to pad over to the pair.

Plumb ignored him completely, even as Kitsy began to try and pry her fingers from Cassy's waist.

Cassy laughed and patted Plum's large, bald head.

'Cassy, do not just leave your trunk in the middle of the entrance hall,' Alphard's voice rang from another room.

Cassy's eyebrows rose. Detaching Plumb, she walked back towards her uncle.

'I did no such thing. You were the one dragging it, so you left it in the way.'

'You were expected to move it.'

'I could barely get it onto the train, let alone up a flight of stairs,' Cassy scoffed. 'Besides, you should not shout from another room, you barbarian.'

'It is my own home.' Cassy rolled her eyes and Alphard's lips quirked upwards, 'Wash up for dinner.'

Dinner was a slow affair, as Cassy had begun recalling her first few months at

Hogwarts. Each mouthful of food was punctuated by another sentence and Alphard had slowed to listen carefully to everything she had said. Minding herself, she skimmed over the troll attack, deciding against informing her uncle she almost died. He had furrowed his eyebrows at even the base details.

'Hogwarts is in need of some updated security,' he said.

Cassy inwardly agreed, thinking of how blatant it was that something was hidden under the trap door. She supposed the Cerberus put off children who were snooping, but it probably had little effect against a fully grown witch or wizard. That was, if the children were not mauled and eaten first, which seemed like a very plausible possibility to her.

She told him about Harry and Neville in greater detail than in her letters. He nodded approvingly of her friends, looking slightly amused and slightly grave when she first said Harry's name, but she knew better than to ask. Then, she moved onto Granger and Ronald, who he told her to ignore, stating they were not worth her the hassle. She said she had not given the time of day.

At the end of it, Alphard had gathered the impression she had enjoyed herself greatly after an initial rocky start. However, one question played on his mind.

'What of Draco? You have not mentioned him.' Cassy visibly deflated. 'Ah,' he said softly, 'he did not take well to you being a lion, then?'

'Not at all. He either pretends I do not exist or goes out of his way to bully my friends. It's extremely vexing.'

'We are going to Malfoy manor tomorrow for a Christmas Eve dinner – Cassiopeia, do not pull that face.'

Her face twisted into a half grimace for a second, but Alphard's sharp eyes noticed it instantly.

'I apologise, Uncle, but as it stands, there is only one person in that household I want to see. That does not make me a particularly willing guest.'

'We are going. Narcissa will be ever so pleased to see you,' Alphard sighed, pushing back his chair. From the doorway, he said, 'You are excused.'

Cassy slinked up to her room, shutting her door with pursed lips. The hours slipped past far too quickly for Cassy's liking. Despite her attempts to off-put the inevitable meeting by wasting the day with meaningless tasks, it was already evening and Cassy forced herself to get ready. She stood in front of her full length mirror, sliding a silver hair comb into her neat hair bun. Stepping back, she ran her hands over her pale pink dress and sighed deeply.

'Such noise, Child,' Alphard said from the doorway.

'It is rude to enter a lady's room without permission.'

'I did not enter, I merely pushed the door open,' he said, but stepped in anyway. 'Try and cheer up, Cassy. It will not be that torturous.'

'You're right; it isn't with the entire family. That brings some joy,' she murmured, pushing past him, shoes held in her left hand.

'Cassiopeia Marilyn Black, stop.'

Cassy halted, her eyes sharp and lips half curled into a sneer. She stood with her back to him, silently.

'What's wrong?' he said in a tone that meant there was no way she could not answer and when she did, it was to be truthful.

'Draco is not who I thought him to be,' she said quietly. 'My friend has become my enemy and I don't see reason for it.'

'So it has upset you. Draco has upset you.' Alphard did not say it as a question, but rather a statement.

Cassy's free fingers flexed as she refrained from making them into fists.

'At school I haven't really thought about it, but knowing I am to speak with him now...'

'I see.' Alphard moved behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. 'You must face your problems with a clear and open mind. Rage and anguish will not help you.'

'I know, Uncle. He has just... become like his father and I cannot stand it.'

Alphard moved away and Cassy sat on the stairs to slip on her dolly shoes and compose herself. She joined him in the living room moments later and took his offered arm, moving to stand in the fire with him. He spared her a sideways glance.

'Malfoy Manor,' he said suddenly and threw the powered at their feet. There was a brilliant flash of green. A spinning sensation set in and Cassy made sure to keep herself perfectly still as not too fall out at the wrong grate. As quickly as it started, the sensation stopped and the white, polished living room of the Malfoy home popped into sight.

Cassy and Alphard stepped out in sync and Cassy let go of his arm.

'Ah, welcome,' Narcissa's soft voice called from a chair to the right. She stood, her silver dress flowing as she glided towards them.

Narcissa was a tall, thin woman with long limbs and an angular face. Her hair was blonde, darker than that of Draco and her eyes were sharp and grey.

'Good evening, my dear,' Alphard said easily, kissing her on the cheek.

She bent down to Cassy, stooping low to embrace the girl tightly.

'Dear Cassy, how have you been? You have not written much to me since September. I have missed your input greatly,' Narcissa said, drawing back from the girl, but keeping her hands on her upper arms. 'Are you all right?'

'I am fine, thank-you.'

Narcissa stared for a moment before releasing her completely. She looked between the two and said, 'You're welcome to sit. Lucius is in the study and Draco is in his room, an elf will fetch them. They'll be down soon.'

She left, presumably to inform an elf to speak with Lucius and Draco. Alphard took the opportunity to lean over to his right and incline his head so his mouth was next to her ears.

'You have worried her.'

'I know, but was not my intention.'

Alphard leant away again, sitting straight in the chair. Cassy folded her hands in her lap, looking unhappily at them, but she did not miss her uncle's side-long gaze. It was only another minute before Narcissa stepped back in and took the seat on the sofa opposite, facing Alphard.

'How have you been, Cassy? I heard from Draco that you were sorted into Gryffindor.'

'Yes. It has been fine.' Her eye twitched slightly as she heard herself speak. She had wanted to scoff at the fact that Draco had told Narcissa. It was probably his opening sentence in his first letter home, she thought bitterly.

'Just fine?'

Cassy was finding it hard to both lie and to speak honestly. Her heart was not in it and she just wished to leave. Knowing it was not an option; she began to pull herself together and smiled gently.

'It's been fun. There have been a few bumps, but I have enjoyed it overall.'

'Oh? What sort of bumps?' Narcissa eyed her curiously, head tilting slightly.

'Just a few minor arguments. Some of my house-mates... do not appreciate my heritage very much.'

'I see,' she replied, leaning back and pursing her lips.

'It was to be expected,' said Cassy quietly.

'Yes, it was,' Narcissa agreed. 'Anyone in particular?'

'Mainly just the youngest Weasley boy. Everyone else has warmed up to me somewhat.'

'Of course,' a drawl came from the doorway, 'Blood-traitors like them will always create unnecessary hassle.'

At the sound, Cassy just wished to stand up, bid her cousin good-bye and leave. However, she did not move a muscle in that direction. Instead, she turned her head, a painted smile on her lips, automatically saying, 'Good evening, Lucius', after her Uncle had greeted him.

Lucius was a tall man, sharp faced and impeccably groomed. His features were stern and unyielding and lacked any of the redeeming warmth Narcissa's were capable of. He took the armchair between the two sofas, his eyes fixed on Cassy, but she was looking at Narcissa, whose gaze was pinned firmly on the table and her eyebrows were furrowed ever-so-slightly.

She knows, Cassy thought, Draco has written to her, so she knows he and I are not getting along.

Alphard and Lucius were midway through a light conversation, as dull as Cassy had ever heard one, when Draco made an appearance, wearing a most unsavoury expression.

'You are slow today, Draco,' Lucius scolded, tucking a strand of his long, blond hair behind his ear. 'Our guests have been here almost twenty-minutes. What have you been doing?'

'I was sorting through my school things, I didn't realise I had taken so long.' It was a lie, or at least it sounded like a lie to all present. Cassy was fairly certain nobody sorted through their school things on Christmas Eve, least of all Draco when he had others to do it for him. He sat down beside his mother and opposite Cassy. Neither looked when they thought they might catch the other's eye.

Dinner was an awful affair. While the food itself was as superb as always, the atmosphere was suffocating. Cassy and Draco would not engage in any sort of conversation with one another that was not conducted through Narcissa. If the topic of school was raised, it was quickly dropped as it garnered even less of a response from the pair.

Cassy picked at her food, not hungry and not realising Draco was doing the same. Narcissa had not eaten much either, too busy talking or mentally fussy over the children to take much time to eat herself. Alphard was sitting with pursed lips and Lucius appeared slightly irritated.

'So,' he said suddenly, 'what are your favourite lessons?' His tone was polite enough, but it was clear they were to answer properly this time and not in half-hearted sentences like they had all evening. He was far less forgiving than Narcissa was to the children, so they relented reluctantly.

Draco looked up and Cassy moved her eyes, keeping her head inclined towards her plate, to see who he was speaking to. He looked between both of them equally and Cassy could not stop her eyelids dipping slightly. When she wished he would not speak to her, he forced her attention and when she thought it would be appropriate, the man ignored her. It was irritating.

'Potions,' Draco said.

Had it been anything else, Cassy might have fallen from her seat in surprise. Everyone knew, or at least assumed, that was Draco's favourite lesson for it was the only one he could openly mock everyone and not get reprimanded for it in the slightest. He was always one of the only ones to do the potion correctly, to his credit, and got many points. However, that was mainly because he was favoured above all others by Professor Snape.

'Ah, yes. I thought it might be. Severus will be pleased to hear that,' said Lucius, nodding. 'And you, Cassiopeia?'

'Transfiguration,' she answered curtly.

'I would have thought that someone like yourself would have preferred Charms.'

She did not know what he meant by that. It may have been a jab at her intelligence or perhaps her personality, hinting that she could not cope with anything that was not for show. That assumption had always irritated her, but it was one Lucius was not keen on dropping. Regardless, she just smiled lightly and said: 'I enjoy Charms, but Transfiguration offers a challenge. It makes me think.'

Lucius nodded approvingly. 'Draco has told me some most... interesting stories of you and your friends.'

'Is that so? I am sure I have some equally interesting ones of him and his,' Cassy replied coolly, catching Alphard's warning look.

'I'm sure.'

As soon as Lucius' fork lay on his plate beside his knife, Narcissa spoke.

'Cassy, would you care to accompany me to the library?' She stared imploringly at her and Cassy simply nodded. Turning to Lucius as if to ask for permission to leave, without really waiting for it, Narcissa bid them all a good evening. She strode around the table, taking Cassy by the crook of her elbow and guiding her out the room and up the stairs. Cassy had half a mind to remind her that she was nearly a foot taller than herself and had a longer leg span, but chose not to when she saw the hard expression.

Narcissa opened the doors, leading Cassy in before letting go of her elbow to gently shut the door.

'Sit, sit,' Narcissa said, ushering her over to the chair by the fireplace.

She sat next to her and pointed her wand at the logs, forcing them to erupt into flames. Her attention then turned to Cassy.

'Now, my dear, tell me what has happened.'

'What are you referring to?'

'You know exactly what I mean,' Narcissa said sternly, raising her eyebrows in a no-nonsense way. 'If Draco's letters were not evidence enough, what occurred at dinner most certainly was.'

Cassy sighed and avoided her eyes. She shook her head softly and stared at the fire, turning her body farther from Narcissa's. 'Draco and I... just do not get along anymore.'

'Why would that be? Is it because of your sorting?'

'Yes, but I fear that even if I was in Slytherin, we would still be on uncertain terms,' Cassy said quietly as her cousin took her hands and pulled her knees so her body was inclined to hers.

'Explain everything to me. As family I wish to know.'

Cassy gave a brief, but honest account of her and Draco's relationship over the past several months. Narcissa sat, thin-lipped and frowning. It was not a look that suited her pretty face.

'He is acting like a child,' she murmured. 'To act out in such a way is improper and unnecessary. Do any other Slytherin's act like this, or anyone else at all?'

'No, they keep to themselves within reason. At least most of the time, you get the occasional outbrust, of course. Draco is the most active one in his bullying for our year.'

Narcissa frowned again.

'I will speak with him.'

'It is fine, he usually ignores me.'

'No,' Narcissa said firmly. 'It is not fine. You are family. Even if you are in a different house, he could act civilly around you in public. He should do that to anyone he... is displeased with.'

Cassy was sure she was about the say "hates", but she recovered at the last moment, although finding her words too slowly to avoid detection. A bite of her lip ensured she did not voice that she thought Draco was incapable of acting civilly at the best of times. That would only just insult Narcissa.

'I fear that will not improve things,' Cassy said, smiling sadly.

'Probably not. He can be almost as stubborn as you at times.'

'Almost?'

'Almost,' she agreed. 'You do not change your mind easily once you have made it. Something you inherited from your father.'

Narcissa's eyes widened and she tensed, realising what she had said an instant too late. Cassy's eyes had already narrowed and she was looking away again.

'I'm sorry,' Narcissa mumbled, rubbing her thumb across the back of Cassy's hand.

'It's fine,' Cassy said just as quietly.

They sat for several more minutes in silence, before a faint pop could be heard from the other side of the door. It was followed by a small knock.

'Come in,' Narcissa called, removing her hands from Cassy's.

An old house-elf wandered in, clothed in a filthy pillowcase that hung loosely from his withered skin. He looked between the two.

'Excuse me, Mistress, but young Miss has been requested to return to the living room,' he said, bowing deeply.

Narcissa nodded and excused the elf. She stood up and Cassy followed suit. 'Do not let Draco bother you,' she said, placing her hands on her shoulders.

'I don't, normally. However, the holiday has reminded me we are, in fact, related and that one of the three members who actually cared for me no longer does so.'

'Do not think like that,' she said, pulling Cassy in for a hug. Cassy wrapped her hands around Narcissa as her face was pushed into the other's shoulder. 'I will speak to Draco, I will try. I promise._ You_ have to promise to write to me, though.'

'Okay,' Cassy said, her voice muffled. 'If you send me some of those brownies I think I could manage that.'

Narcissa rubbed the back of Cassy's head gently, careful not to ruin her bun. She pulled back and smiled at her, Cassy smiled back weakly and allowed herself to be guided down to the living room. Once they arrived, Alphard stood waiting by the fireplace, Lucius some distance away. Draco was nowhere to be seen.

'Have a good Christmas,' Alphard bid them, stepping into the flames with Cassy at his side.

'Good-bye,' she said, smiling again at Narcissa, who smiled softly in return.

The swirling feeling was back and Cassy soon stood in her own living room, slightly brighter than when she left it. Talking with Narcissa, even for that short while, had made her feel more relaxed and she was glad to have said what she did, although she hated to acknowledge problems out loud. She sat on the sofa and pulled off her shoes, before she rubbed her eyes.

'I think you should wash up and go to bed,' Alphard said, taking off his own shoes. 'You look tired.'

In truth, Cassy felt exhausted, so she simply nodded and excused herself, not bothering to push for more time by instigating a silly, unrelated argument like she usually did when told to go before she chose to.

Alphard watched her go, a small frown on his face. He stared at the fire for some time, but shook his head.

* * *

**Eh, not really fond of this chapter. It's a bit of a filler, but it was important to expand Cassy's home dynamics more, just not particularly important plot wise for the moment. It will be important later, so I need to include it.**

**Neville being able to see Thestral's is Cannon, by the way. It's in the books, for those of you who have only seen the films; I just thought I'd make a note here about it. I don't know how they get back for the Christmas Holidays, but I assume the carts are the easiest way and so I needed to introduce his ability now, rather than fifth year.**

**I made Narcissa like Cassy because she is a family based woman, even though she can be quick to dismiss members who go against her beliefs. As you can see, she isn't overly bothered with Cassy being in Gryffindor and I got this from the fact that although Sirius was not sorted into Slytherin, his family did not immediately turn. They were more disdainful, but he chose to leave and be disowned, rather than disowned and forced. (I got this from the fact that he was only blasted off the tapestry once he ran away.) Plus, Cassy's hasn't broken any major traditions yet, so she's still in Narcissa's good books. There is more to that planned, but it will arise in her later years, so it's a matter of wait and see.**

**Thanks!**


	10. Just holding on

C. M. Black: Heart of a Lion

**Chapter IX: Just holding on**

The days following Christmas past quickly and January fifth was soon upon them, much to Cassy's delight. The weather had turned wet and icy, opposed to the thick fleets of snow they had experienced earlier and it was set to be a wet winter.

Cassy had met Neville - whose face lit up when he saw her, glad to be away from his relatives again - and they had another uneventful train journey back to school. Cassy had half expected Draco to burst in, either to taunt them or to criticise Cassy's strength in confiding in his mother, but he did neither. Not even on the platform, had Cassy had the briefest opportunity to catch a glimpse of him.

Once they arrived, they rode in the carts back up to the castle and Neville reached out again, this time touching something. His face lit up in awe and he glanced to the side, smiling as if the Thestral had turned to look at him. Inside, they went straight to dinner, the hall filling rapidly with loud voices and moving bodies. The crowd was thick with taller students, clumping together to greet each other, as if they had not had the entire train journey to seek one another out.

Cassy pulled Neville by his sleeve, muttering the occasional "excuse me" as she manoeuvred past, but she need not have. Neville was apologising enough for everyone, blurting out various phrases at every small bump. Half the time, Cassy was sure the other students had not even noticed it, but he insisted anyway.

At the end of the table, nearest the staff's own, sat Harry, hunched over and face inclined towards his empty plate. Cassy and Neville took seats on either side of him and opposite was Dean and Finnigan, who greeted them cheerfully before returning to their Christmas stories – which Harry seemed to be taking very little notice of.

'Are you okay?' Cassy asked quietly as she leant over to take the gravy boat from Harry's other side.

Harry looked up and nodded, although still troubled. 'I've got loads to tell you two. Not here, though.' He fidgeted, opening and looking around, as of gauging whether it really would be such a bad time to speak, but he close it again as he looked back at Dean and Finnigan. His attempt to be secretive only brought more attention to him and even Finnigan thought to ask him if he was okay. With a light tone and short laugh, Harry escaped any further questions, but Cassy and Neville's curiosity was growing.

'Did something happen?' questioned Neville quietly, his eyebrows knitting down with worry.

'No- well, yes. I'll tell you later, okay?'

That response did not help at all and the anticipation shared between the three of them only rose as dinner continued. Professor Dumbledore made a short speech to welcome them back and as he said his final words, the three hurried out of the hall and up the marble staircases with speed they had not used in a while. They occupied the small table in the corner of the common room and as soon as others began filtering in, creating just enough noise, Harry launched into the story of his Christmas holiday in a hushed whisper.

'You got an Invisibility cloak?' Cassy gasped, her eyebrows shot to her hairline and Harry looked slightly shocked himself. He had not expected such surprise, perhaps an impressed hum, but not what he got and he took a moment to revel in the fact he had taken her completely off-guard.

'They're really, really rare. Who sent it to you?' asked Neville, his face having adopted a similar expression. 'I wish I had got one of those for Christmas.'

'I don't know. There was no name,' he answered with a shrug.

'What did the card say?' Cassy said, her eyebrows furrowing again.

'Just that it belonged to my dad and that they felt it was time it was returned to me,' he said and waved a hand to the staircase. 'I've got the card upstairs, but I didn't recognise the writing.'

'Your father? Then I can't imagine the cloak has much life left in it. They usually only last ten or fifteen years.' Cassy knew little about Invisibility cloaks. They were uncommon and difficult to manufacture. Depending one the power of the wizard who cast the spell and the quality of the material used, they lasted for a decade or two. Now she was simply interested in how old Harry's was, because it had to be at least ten years old and appeared to be in perfect working order, at least according Harry himself.

'Do you know anyone your dad was close to?' asked Neville, but Harry shook his head.

'Nobody's mentioned their old friends. I really haven't got a clue and the only people here that might know would be the teachers, but I reckon they'd all be keen to take the cloak from me.'

'Yeah, that's probably not a good idea,' agreed Neville and Cassy nodded along with him.

Harry continued on with the rest of his story. As it was, the cloak was not the most interesting occurrence in the past two weeks. He explained about the mirror of Erised; what it did and how he knew that and the strange writing along the frame, but Harry did not get the reaction he had wanted. A mirror that could show the hearts deepest desire was something uncommon, even in the Wizarding world, but there was no gasp or shriek of enthusiasm and while their eyes had lit up as he spoke, the light faded quickly. They simply just watched him with wide eyes before looking down at the table.

Cassy mumbled to herself, her mind reeling and eyes growing ever dimmer with each passing thought. She wanted to be amazed and half-expected herself to want to find it for curiosity's sake, but she did not. A person's deepest desire could explain everything about them, she did not want to know her own. She could think of several possibilities, things she did not want to acknowledge and things she certainly did not want to admit to anyone else. She would rather deny her own weakness, than have it stare back at her.

But then, what would it really be? She thought curiously. Is that really what I want more than anything else?

Like her own, Neville's face lost any enjoyment it had. His eyes crinkled up and his eyebrows slanted down and he stared mournfully at his plate. Even with the briefest of glances, Cassy and Harry could tell without a doubt that he knew what his most desired wish was and it was not a happy one. Perhaps it was, Cassy acknowledged, but for it to have such an effect she knew things as they were must pain him and it was not something she was going to ask about.

Harry did not quite understand, wondering if it was another lesson taught in the magical world that he had missed. He was growing a long mental list and everyday he found new items to add, but this one perplexed him. Harry had thought the Mirror of Erised was brilliant, he had never considered an object that could show the hearts deepest desires could ever exist, but it did. As he explained how he had returned many nights following his discovery, neither Cassy nor Neville looked pleased. Cassy's, in Harry's opinion, was one far more like the pensive face Professor Dumbledore had wore when he found Harry there one night. Although, she looked relieved when Harry had said it had been moved and he had not seen it since.

Nothing else was said. Neville kept his head inclined to the table top, shoulders slumped and hands folded in his lap. He looked small, smaller than he had ever been and held a certain air of defeat about him that did not quite fit with the boy that had come to know. A simple comment had caused Neville to retreat back into his shell and Cassy did not look as if she was about to be leaving the confides of her own mind any time soon either. Harry was glad that she did not appear upset, the guilt was already swirling in his stomach, but instead reading the dull burning flames of interest that had lit themselves in her eyes. Not a passionate interest that he himself had, but a thoughtful one that was sure to rule her brain for many days.

Biting his lip, Harry said, 'I saw my parents.'

Cassy and Neville looked up. Pain gripped her chest and she looked down again. The thoughts of her own wish swirling stronger, while Neville said nothing. He looked at Harry with understanding. The group dropped back into a silence that was more mournful than the first and Harry suddenly felt very awkward.

'So-o,' he said slowly, 'any luck with Flamel? I tried the Forbidden section, which is how I came across the mirror actually, but I'll tell you about that later.'

Neville sighed deeply and shook his head, but Cassy straightened. Staring at her expectantly, they leant in closer as if expecting her to whisper. She leant back in her chair in return.

'I asked my uncle – don't pull those faces, I told him I had heard another student speak of him – and I now know why we haven't found anything,' she paused and looked between them, adding tension to the situation that made her internally smile, 'he's over six-hundred-years-old.'

'What?' Harry and Neville asked dumbly, looking at each other to ensure they had heard correctly. Based on the other's face, they knew they had and asked Cassy to repeat herself, certain it was just a slip of her tongue.

'I should have realised, really,' Cassy said sighing and ignored them. 'Flamel is an alchemist, something I find quite interesting, but I am told it is incredibly difficult. I looked him up in my library afterwards, which leads me to believe we may have the Philosopher's Stone hidden in the castle.'

'Oh!' Neville squeaked, eyes wide.

'The what?' Harry said dully.

'The Philosopher's Stone can give someone immortality,' Neville whispered loudly. 'There are all sorts of stories about it.'

'Ingenious Ignatius in Immortality's Image,' Cassy smiled, recalling the story.

Neville nodded thoughtfully before saying, 'I always like "Embrace of Eternity". That was a nice story.'

'Nice? Neville, you do realise that was about a man losing his wife and being forced to live forever without her?'

'What? She's not really dead. She comes back in the middle!'

'No, he thinks she does, but he's really just seeing what he wants to.'

'Oh...'

Neville had wide eyes and Cassy rubbed her temples. She looked at Harry, who sat dumbfounded, obviously not having followed the conversation at all. They were stories often read to children at bed time, although carrying a far deeper meaning. Tales of immortality and victory were always popular and had been quickly corrupted through time. Cassy would have to lend Harry one.

'Anyway,' she said, reining the conversation back on course. 'I think that's what is there. It fits the description best, small and solid, incredibly valuable and dangerous.'

Harry leant backwards.

'No wonder Snape wants it. If it can make you live forever...'

'It also had the ability to turn substances into gold. It can make the wielder rich and immortal.'

'Blimey. So Dumbledore and Flamel are probably friends, if the stone was moved here. You wouldn't just give it would to anyone, would you?' Neville said.

'And Hagrid would be sent to pick it up because he isn't an obvious choice. It was the best way to get the Stone back to Hogwarts,' concluded Harry, while the other two nodded along. 'The only thing is, why give it to Dumbledore?'

They sat in silence, brains mulling over the information and trying to come up with valid reasons, but were each as feeble as the next. There were multiple reasons, such as close friends, or protection purposes, perhaps the Flamel's were travelling somewhere, or the Headmaster was to study it. None of them seemed quite right and they looked at each other blankly.

'Even if they were close friends,' said Cassy, 'Flamel had guarded the stone well enough for over five-hundred years, why give it up now?'

'Well, as long as it's safe, it doesn't matter why it's here, does it?' said Neville, shrugging slightly.

'Dumbledore obviously has a reason for it, people don't usually mess with him do they? He's one of the most powerful wizards in Britain,' acknowledged Harry, although his face suggested he was still highly curious.

'That solves that then,' Cassy said, quietly. 'Although, now I feel like I need something else to do.'

'Same,' yawned Harry and he stretched. 'We'll have to find another project, we'll find something to use the cloak for – as long as the Stone is safe. We can't just let Snape steal it.'

'Of course not, ' she agreed.

'I'm sure we'll find something to do, there must be lots of mysterious things at Hogwarts, even for you two,' said Harry, looking between the pair. 'You two may be raised here, but you can't know everything.'

'As long as it isn't dangerous this time,' Neville added firmly and the two smiled widely at him. He shook his head lightly, suppressing a smile. 'It's faces like that which make me think you two aren't up to making any promises.'

They laughed and said nothing to disagree. Growing louder as Neville pouted, they attracted a few stairs from the people at the next table, but they did not stop.

Shaking his head, Neville asked: 'How was your Christmas, Cassy?'

'It was okay.' Cassy's smile faded slightly. Her featured remained soft with amusement, but there were no obvious signs that she wanted to talk about it.

'Just okay?'

She nodded, looking down at the plate and biting her lip. 'Just okay. It was not the best, but I am sure if I were to think I could remember a worse one.'

'Why, what happened?' Harry asked, twisted the ugly vase in his hands.

'My uncle and I spent Christmas Eve at Malfoy Manor.'

'Ah,' the boys said at the same time.

Changing the focus before it became anymore awkward, Cassy asked Neville about his Christmas and he recalled in great detail about his family gathering. How they had all congratulated him for being in Gryffindor – he turned pink as soon as he said this and looked at Cassy nervously, but she pretended not to notice – and then what presents he had got. He smiled at the two, thanking them again for the ones they had sent him too.

The conversation drifted back to Harry's cloak as he was struck with an idea and in hushed whispers the three began forming an elaborate tale of connecting scenarios that could happen using the cloak. Even Neville was joining in, opening up to the idea quicker than the others anticipated, but more than welcome to. He was eager to explore, particularly to find the kitchens; its whereabouts a well-known secret, but a secret none-the-less.

However, in the oncoming weeks, they had very little time to conduct any more mischief. Homework was becoming more frequent, in preparation for exams later that year and they were separated often by Harry's constant Quidditch practise. Cassy ended up spending most of her time tutoring Neville instead. He was making slow and steady progress, needing her help less and less each time, excluding Transfiguration. It seemed he was doomed to stumble through the work in that subject, making nothing spectacular and sometimes not even acceptable items.

After one of his lessons, Harry came back particularly grim-faced.

'Snape's going to referee the next match,' he mumbled, slouching down on the sofa, squashing Neville against one of the arms.

'Y-you can't play! What if he tries to knock you off again?' cried Neville. He tried to pull his cloak out from under Harry, but to no avail. It was slowly becoming damp as the rain water from Harry's clothes began invading all surrounding dry surfaces.

'We have no reserve. Besides, there's no reason I can't,' Harry reasoned weakly.

'Break your arm!'

'Break multiple bones,' Cassy added suddenly.

'Yeah, that way you can't play even after she fixes them because of strain,' Neville said cheerfully.

Harry snorted and tilted his head back. He closed his eyes and said: 'Nice to know you two are so eager to break my bones.'

'For your own good, of course,' Cassy assured, face completely serious despite her teasing tone.

Harry nodded slowly, eyebrows dipped, but a smile one his lips. 'Oh yeah, I completely understand.'

'So, what are you going to do?' asked Neville.

'I don't know, play I guess. I can't let the team down just because Snape has it in for me. We don't have a reserve player, so I'm it.'

None of the three looked particularly pleased with that, but there was nothing they could do about it. Nobody would argue their side about Professor Snape refereeing, at least nobody on the staff, because no one took it as a problem. There was really no choice.

The match was drawing nearer and Harry was growing paler, even though he remained adamant he was going to play. They wandered down to the stands together and Harry - thinking his friends would not notice - took a deep breath before disappearing into the changing rooms, late and unlikely to avoid being heavily reprimanded by Wood. Cassy and Neville climbed the wooden stairs quickly to find seats as far away from the teachers as possible, trying to remain out of site.

They had been learning various quick fire curses, ones to shoot at Professor Snape, or anyone else that may threaten Harry, during the game if necessary. Although they were nothing too advanced, they were capable of knocking someone clear off their broom and that was all the pair needed to do.

'What if I hit someone else?' Neville asked.

'You won't,' she said, but then thought to add, 'and on the off chance you do, just keep firing until you hit him. In for a Knut, in for a Galleon.'

The determined look that was etched onto his face melted slightly and he looked at her in disbelief. She just raised her eyebrows and looked the other way, pretending not to notice as he scoffed in amusement and mumbled to himself.

They waited, standing still in the bitter air of late February, wands hidden up their sleeves. People, students and staff alike, where still piling into the stands. It would be a few minutes still before the game started, but they wished it would just hurry up so it could be over already. They were feeling almost as timorous as Harry as they anticipated his violent demise, even though they had assured each other several times nothing was going to happen.

Neville winced as a gust of cold air hit his face. While the weather had improved slightly as it no longer sleeted every other day, it was still bitter and wet. It was the mid point between winter and spring and the type of weather nobody really wanted to be out it. However, that did not stop the stands filling up and students cheering themselves hoarse before the match had even begun. Neville rubbed his ears and across to his cheeks, barely warming his quickly numbing face.

'Aren't you cold?' he said, noticing how Cassy stood stock still with her hands folded together neatly in front of her.

'A little.'

'You don't look it.'

Cassy smiled before readjusting her white, chunky knit beanie.

'I am, but I may have been too lost in my thoughts to really notice for a moment there.'

'I wish I could do that,' Neville snorted, rubbing the sleeves of his coat.

Cassy peered around at the faces in the stands. There were many she did recognise and some she did, many where to far to distinguish clearly, but one she recognised immediately. 'Look,' she said, pointing to another stand. 'The Headmaster has come to watch.'

In the distance, they could see Professor Dumbledore take a seat amongst the teachers, his bright orange coat singling him out like a warning beacon.

Neville deflated in relief, 'Great! That means Snape can't do anything, right? Dumbledore would notice.'

'Hopefully,' Cassy nodded.

Professor Snape marched onto the field, looking far more irritable that usual. A black cloak trimmed with white trailed down to his ankles and white arm guards were secured paired with matching shin guards that sat over his black trousers. He mounted his broom and hovered up as the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff teams got into formation.

'It's a rather odd sight, Professor Snape flying,' Cassy commented. It was odd seeing him in anything but long black robes, but she did not feel the need to voice that, everything was odd about the situation.

Neville laughed shortly, watching closely as Harry slumped onto the pitch, clearly not completely assured by the Headmaster's presence, but looking as though he had brightened since they departed. He stood with the rest of them in formation, stock still.

The teams were suddenly airborne. The Gryffindor team burst into life, putting all their effort in from the start this game as to get it finished quickly, before Professor Snape had the chance to award too many tries to Hufflepuff.

Cassy clapped, the sound severely muted by her gloves, while Neville let out a loud whoop as Gryffindor blocked Hufflepuff's penalty, which was awarded because George Weasley smacked a Bludger at Professor Snape almost the exact moment the game began. They kept one eye on Harry circling the pitch high above the other players. Looking to Professor Snape, it was clear he was too, as he would glance up every few seconds.

'Shut it, Malfoy!' a roar sounded from a dozen paces down.

Cassy quickly turned and leant backwards and craned to see the commotion. Her gaze flattened as she saw Draco and Ronald face to face at the back of the stands. Draco was smirking, looking thoroughly pleased with himself, while Ronald had gone red with anger. Cassy watched for a moment longer, but Harry needed her attention now, so she turned back to the game.

He had not changed tactics and was still circling when Cassy heard another shout, this one gathering more than just her attention, even though she tried to ignore it.

Ronald and Draco were grappling each other, pushing violently. With longer arms, Ronald smacked Draco in the face and was quickly aided by Finnigan, who had turned as they bumped into him. Crabbe and Goyle joined Draco and the five were starting to brawl, gaining volume with every hit.

Cassy could hear Neville shouting encouragement at Harry as she drew her wand. She mumbled, flicking her wand and the five flew apart. Draco and his friends slid in one direction, while Ronald and Finnigan in the other. They stated in bewilderment for a moment, but Draco's eyes slid over to Cassy. She turned away quickly, yet in vain, knowing he had already seen her.

Looking back at the game, Harry was on the move. He shot past Professor Snape, avoiding him by only inches as he dived. Harry pulled up suddenly, two foot from the floor with fist held high in the air. The crowd could see the tiny beating wings of the Snitch poking out either side.

'Whoo! Go Harry!' Neville shrieked, jumping and clapping wildly.

Cassy pulled off a glove, put her fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. She and Neville beamed at each other.

'We're in the lead,' Neville shouted over the cheers. 'I can't believe it.'

'Plus, nothing happened to Harry. Nothing went wrong. Come on.'

They quickly exited down the stairs to their left, many Gryffindor's doing the same. They were dragged by the crowd onto the pitch, where people only cheered louder and ran to the centre, huddling around Harry. He was lifted by the Weasley twins, perched on their shoulders as everyone tried to shake his hand. Cassy and Neville stood farther back, out of the chaos, smiling and waiting for Harry to notice them.

To one side, Professor McGonagall stood, a grin as large as that of the Cheshire cat's on her face. Her eyes travelled over to Professor Snape, who scowled more and snarled at the ground

'This will be going on forever,' Neville said. 'You'd think we won the House Cup or something.'

'Gryffindor has always been the rowdiest house. They will probably be bragging for weeks,' Cassy agreed fondly.

They waved as Harry looked over at at, grinning from his makeshift throne. His attention was pulled away again and the pair decided to head back up to the common room. Harry would be a while.

They trudged through the portrait hole, pleased to find the room silent and virtually empty. They took their seat in the corner again at a small table they were beginning to call their own. Neville's ugly coloured vase sat at the end, pressed against the wall still. He blushed when Cassy pointed it out and conjured a yellow chrysanthemum to go in it from an orange.

They pulled off their winter attire, hanging them on the backs of their chairs, before overheating in the roasting common room. The log fire had been burning all day and had appeared to have been maintained during the match.

'Gran spoke about you when we got home, after the station,' Neville said randomly as they sat in silence, watching the fire.

Cassy raised an eyebrow. 'To ward you away?' she asked, only partly playful.

'N-no,' Neville mumbled, blushing. 'She seems to like you... or at least as much as my gran appears to like people. She liked your manners.'

'She would be the first then,' Cassy said, offering a weak smile. 'My uncle approves of you and Harry, he thinks you sound like good friends. He said he hopes you can keep me out of trouble.'

Neville snorted before saying, 'Yeah, right. I'm pretty sure – no, I'm certain, that my opinion won't stop you from doing anything.'

'That's not true,' she said. 'It depends on what it is.'

'My opinion towards anything that will get you into trouble, then.'

Cassy tilted her head side to side, as if weighing up the comment, eventually she nodded. 'That I can see.'

Neville rolled his eyes and Cassy laughed. He had given up quickly this time and Cassy believed they were making progress.

As they spoke, more people began to file into the common room. Many were noisy, chatting loudly about Gryffindor's triumph, but Harry had still yet to appear. Time passed quickly and nearly everyone was looking for him, ready to give him another pat on the back for his efforts. They did not see him until he hurried in for dinner, red-faced and panting, as if having ran around the Black Lake.

He slumped down next to Cassy, ungracefully and very noisily.

'We need to talk. Let's go find an empty room,' he murmured.

They peered at him questioningly, but moved swiftly. Scooping up half the toast rack between them, they hurried out the hall, ignoring the shouts Harry received from well wishers. Cassy and Neville were forced to jog to keep up with Harry, who had sped off almost instantly in an impatient stride. He ushered them into an empty classroom before shutting the door, but only after peering both ways down the corridor.

The doors were pulled closed quickly, but as quietly as he could manage, not wanting to alert anyone around the corners that the room was in use. The classroom was one on the first floor, one unused by the first-years, but the tanks of sea creatures and large, colourful birds contained in arching metal cages suggested it was an upper-year Transfiguration classroom. They just had to hope now that Professor McGonagall did not come back to find them in there.

'Harry?' Neville asked quietly, setting the toast down on a nearby desk.

'We were right. It is Snape trying to steal the Stone,' he growled, throwing himself back against a desk edge.

Neville stood still, his mouth agape as Cassy cocked her head to one side, eyebrows lowered and arms folded across her chest.

'What happened?' she asked lowly.

'Well, I went to put my broom back in the cupboard, when I notice someone walking towards the Forbidden Forest. It was Snape, I knew it was, even though he his hood up. I followed him-'

'Harry!' Neville whined. 'That's dangerous.'

For once, Cassy agreed with the other's caution. Curious or not, she did not like the idea that Harry had followed a hooded figure into the Forbidden Forest, an area that is known to house dangerous creatures. Furthermore, he did not even know if it was Professor Snape, it was an assumption and one that was based purely on the fact that Harry _wanted_ it to be Professor Snape. What annoyed her most was that he was that he seemed to pay no heed to it all, as if the danger had never even occurred to him.

'I know, I know. I was on my broom so I was silent. Anyway, the trees were too thick and I couldn't see exactly, but then he starts speaking to someone. Guess who?' Harry did not wait for them to answer, but leant forward and said slowly, 'Quirrell.'

'Why would Quirrell be in the Forbidden Forest?' Neville asked.

'I think Snape forced him to go there, that's what it sounded like, at least. See, Snape said he wanted to keep it private, because it was about the Philosopher's Stone. He was asking how to get past Fluffy.'

'Of course, he could not get past him on Halloween,' Cassy said quietly, eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

'Quirrell denied it, but Snape said something I couldn't quite hear and said something about Quirrell's spell. I bet there are other enchantments protecting the stone. Quirrell must have done one and Snape can't get past it.'

'So, all that is stopping him from getting the Stone is Professor Quirrell? That... makes for a rather bleak outcome.'

'As long as Quirrell doesn't say anything, it should be fine,' Harry agreed.

'But really, how long do you believe he will last? Professor Snape can be quite intimidating and Professor Quirrell is very meek,' said Cassy and frowned, knowing Harry was right and there had to be other enchantments. Fluffy would not stop many competent people from stealing the Stone, so it would be hard to imagine that was the only protection there. She voiced her thoughts and the two nodded furiously in agreement.

'But, Snape must know how to get passed the other traps. Why else would he target only Quirrell? Although, why would he ask Quirrell how to get past Fluffy when I thought he was Hagrid's... pet?' questioned Harry, brow furrowing. 'We'll have to see how it goes...'

The three sighed, taking various seats and picking up a slice of toast each. They ate in a moody silence, but Neville could not contain himself for long.

'B-but really, Quirrell?' he exclaimed, throwing his head back. 'I'd feel better if it was McGonagall he was trying to crack.'

'So would I, McGonagall would never give in,' said Harry.

'So, I suppose that means that at your Quidditch match that Professor Snape was jinxing your broom and Professor Quirrell was trying to counter it,' Cassy voiced from where she sat atop the desk.

'Poor Quirrell. Nice of him to try, but he didn't really help.'

'He's always getting the worse of everything, isn't he? He found the troll when Snape let it in too,' said Neville, making Harry and Cassy nod regretfully.

'We'll just try and encourage him. We can do that without mentioning the Stone, right?' Harry asked, not looking up.

'We will have to keep an eye on him though. If he looks as if he is about to say something we must tell someone, or do something. This is too important to just leave it,' Cassy sighed.

When Cassy had said she wanted something else to do now the mystery of the object was over, this was not what she had in mind. She twiddled the toast in her hand, folded it and bit her lip. She could see the boys nod without looking up, Harry with a face of determination and Neville with one of uncertainty. Cassy, for the first time, really shared his feelings on this.

* * *

**Right, so we're beggining to get into the final stretch of the year now.**

**So, it seems like another bit of a filler, doesn't it? Of course, not much happened so I agree that it was boring, it was boring to write too. However, it is an important chapter and had key information in it. There is not much original content in this one, largely because not much went on and I wanted to get past this bit. Sorry about that.**

**I haven't given away what Cassy thought she might see in the Mirror, but she isn't really sure and it will be a plot point later again ( I seem to do that a lot, so if you plan on sticking with me through all seven years, you are going to need a good memory, haha – although not as good as mine will need to be in order to remember to put everything in). **

**It should be obvious what Neville's is, I imagine it would be that in Cannon as well. Not much to say about this one. **

**Thanks!**


	11. Midnight stroll

C. M. Black: Heart of a Lion

**Chapter X: Midnight stroll**

Weeks passed and Professor Quirrell seemed to still be holding out, but so was Professor Snape. He continued to prowl around around the castle and his distaste for Harry was beginning to wear off onto Cassy and Neville as well. Although he had never really liked Neville, at least he had ignored Cassy's existence. In class, Neville would shake and panic as the man's dark eyes passed him and Harry sat with a deep scowl on his face. The Professor's worsening attitude only made them more supportive of Professor Quirrell.

He had grown paler and thinner, stuttering more often than usual with darting eyes. Harry and Neville would smile encouragingly at him when they saw him and he would always offer a weak one back before slinking around another corner. Cassy decided she would really rather not draw attention to it.

Between classes, Quidditch and the Stone, the three had little time to themselves, especially as every professor was pressing them to revise for the upcoming exams. They had yet to bother, but still found themselves in the library, several tables away from Hermione Granger. She was furiously drafting notes on a table and colour coding them, giving the notes scornful looks every few minutes.

'Trust Binns to give us the randomest topic,' Harry grumbled, shutting another book.

'"Randomest" is not a word, Harry,' Cassy said without looking up.

She was scanning the indexes of an old, tattered book, one in a large pile they had gathered over the past hour. Most of them had little, if anything, about the Nordic Vampire uprising. Probably because, Cassy reasoned, every human involved was murdered. However, that did not stop them from having to write a group report on it.

'I wish we could have had something else, anything else,' said Neville from behind the stack.

'I think the topic is interesting, it's just a shame we can't find out more about it.'

'Yeah, this is the first time we've learnt anything other than Gob- oh! Found something,' Harry announced. He leant over the book, kneeling in his chair to get a better angle. 'In 1542, the covens that dominated much of Southern Norway joined together against the expanding immigration of humans from Denmark once they were joined in a political union by the Muggle leaders. As the Muggles tried to force their way farther inland, they disrupted many Covens and their rituals... it was not uncommon for Muggles to disappear... Um... the Danish King, aided by his magical advisor ordered the Norwegian ruler to do something about it... guards were sent in, but never seen again... suspected to have all been eaten.'

'Rather brief, but still the best book we have found,' Cassy said as Harry passed it over the table to her.

They spent several days compiling their research into a foot long essay. Each time they were in the library, so was Granger. She was always hunched over with a large book, usually not one from their reading log, rewriting her notes. Unable to watch her wither, Neville struck up a conversation one day.

'How are you, Hermione? Are you already preparing?'

'_Already_? You haven't? There are only seven weeks until exams start! I started after Christmas,' she said shrilly. 'When do you three intend to begin?'

'Never,' Cassy answered flatly, still peering down in her book.

'What? You'll fail! You do realise that we need to pass these to get into second year?'

'Calm down. I study all the time, so I don't think it counts as revision.'

Granger's eyebrows furrowed and she folded her arms, staring at her disapprovingly before casting her eyes to Harry and Neville, who looked equally as unenthusiastic. 'And you two?'

They shook their heads and Granger's lips were pulled thin. She began moving the open books, stacking them up until she pulled out a piece of parchment from under a particularly thick one. She held it up.

'This is my reading list. It has every book listed that we've had to use in class and all the ones that have notes on out topics in. I'm about two-thirds of the way through. Want to see?' She passed it over and Harry unfurled it. It was at least four foot long, with small ticks and scribbles besides certain titles, a key that only Granger would know. 'The crosses are books that aren't very good – at least not for the topic, I'm sure they're good in other areas.'

'That's an impressive list,' commented Cassy. 'Have you ever read any of the EagleStone journals?'

'The what?' she asked.

'The EagleStone journals are reports people have written on Potions, Transfiguration, Hebrology and several other things we don't learn about until third year. They are very good, but you have to pay for them. A lot of the Ravenclaws and Slytherins buy them. Many of their parents get them subsidised because of their work.'

'Really? That's unfair. The school should have copies. How much are they?'

'Sixty-five galleons a year,' Cassy said. She flicked her eyes back to the book in front of her as she caught Granger's mortified face.

Granger spluttered, biting her lip then sighing loudly. She took back her reading list and began packing up her belongings, leaving the pile of books on the table, sure to return to them later. Throwing her bag over her shoulder, she exited quickly.

Both Harry and Neville stared at Cassy with raised eyebrows, but she paid them no heed. Instead, she flicked a page in the book, scanning with her finger down the index, before closing it and opening another.

'When do you get time to actually study?'

'At night or in the morning, usually. Why?'

Harry shrugged, still surprised. Even though he normally saw her with a book, he never really considered that she was actually studying. When he had asked her about it once she said it was to keep her occupied as she got bored very easily. Harry thought she had an ungodly patience, but with Cassy, he found it difficult to tell what she was really thinking and feeling.

'Ah, no,' a voice mumbled from behind them.

They turned, recognising it and smiled at Hagrid.

'Hello, Hagrid.'

'Good-morning.'

'Hullo.'

They greeted him, one after another. He just eyed them suspiciously, gaze moving to the books piled on their desk, before flicking over to Granger's.

'Yer still not lookin' into it, are yeh? Jus' leave it be,' he said sternly in a loud whisper.

'Oh no, we found out about that ages ago,' Harry said brightly, waving him off.

The man paled, shifting uncomfortably. The movement drew Cassy's attention to the books in his arms; large, leather bound books from one of the top shelves. Although, their spines did not match those of the ones in the present isle. It was obvious that Hagrid had been searching through several isles before emerging there.

'May I ask what you are looking for?' she said.

He turned slightly, hiding the books with his body. 'Never yeh mind. Yeh should be doin' yer homework.'

'We are,' Harry said, waving his parchment, 'but we wanted to ask you something.'

'Go on, quickly.'

'What else is guarding the Stone a-'

Hagrid let out a loud hiss of air, flapping one hand frantically as his others still held onto the books. Squinting his beady-eyes, he looked down both halves of the isle and then leant closer to them, raising a hand to cup his mouth.

'Are yeh mad?' he hissed. 'Don't talk about that here! Look, see me later. I'm makin' no promises, yeh understand, but ask me then.'

He caved easily and Cassy reckoned he must have accepted the fact that the three were not going to give up until they had the answers they wanted. They bid him farewell and he scurried quickly out of the library. Once he was gone, they all shared a look of interest.

'What do you think he was looking at?' Neville said, craning his neck and squinting to try and read the titles of the books down an adjoining isle.

'He was hiding something,' said Cassy, eyes flickering to where Hagrid had exited.

'Do you think it was anything to do with the Stone?' asked Harry.

'I doubt it.'

'I'll go and see what he was looking at.' Neville stood and scurried away.

Cassy and Harry looked pensively at the table. Hagrid had been on edge around them since he let slip about Nicholas Flamel and they had not been to visit him since. It made them feel slightly guilty, but they just found they did not have the time, or the weather had been too poor to warrant the trek to his hut.

'There are many things it could be about,' Cassy said eventually. 'Considering it is Hagrid, it could be a book on some obscure creature he has found in the forest and intends to keep.'

'Probably. He likes all sorts of weird animals.'

Neville game back a moment later, a frown on his face.

'The isle was filled with books on dragons,' he said, taking a seat.

'Dragons? Hagrid's always wanted a dragon. He told me so the first time we met,' said Harry slowly.

Everyone sat quietly for a moment. The idea took a moment to set in, but when it did they were unable to let it go. Looks of wariness in varying degrees dripped onto their faces.

'You don't think he's got one do you? I mean, a real dragon,' whispered Neville, looking from Cassy to Harry rapidly, almost pleading with them.

'It is illegal, but that doesn't mean he hasn't got one.' Cassy folded her hands onto the table. 'Equally, that doesn't mean he does. If he does like dragons, he might just be looking.'

'But then knowing Hagrid, it wouldn't surprise me. Look at Fluffy. We'll see though, when we go to his hut later. I bet it's hard to hide a dragon,' said Harry.

'Dragons are huge,' Neville agreed. 'It might live in the forest, though.'

'We would be able to tell eventually, someone would certainly see it flying if it did,' Cassy said. 'They're not easy to tame, even Hagrid would have trouble.'

They waited an hour before going to see Hagrid. It gave them a chance to finish their homework, although very slowly because their minds kept drifting back to the possible dragon Hagrid had stashed away somewhere. In the end, Cassy just allowed Harry and Neville to copy her Charms answers, so they could leave.

Harry knocked loudly. On the second one, the curtain shifted and a pair of beady eyes looked out for a split second before the door was wretched open. Hagrid ushered the three in quickly, surveying the grounds and slamming the door shut.

The hut was boiling. The weather outside had brightened and on a windless day, it was quite warm enough to lounge outside in just a shirt. However, Hagrid had his fire lit and burning high with a black object engulfed in the centre. The windows were closed and the room was dark, the sunlight blocked by the drawn curtains.

They sat at the large table, circular table as Hagrid made tea. As soon as his back was turned, Cassy pointed to the object in the fire and the three peered at his curiously, trying to figure out what it was. Finally, before Hagrid had a chance to even set the tea down, Harry blurted out: 'Is that a dragon egg?'

The effect was instantaneous. Hagrid flinched, dropping a mug of hot tea and knocking over the other three as he turned in panic. He stared, wide-eyed and alarmed at them.

'What?' he rasped.

'The thing in the fire. You were looking at dragon books earlier, weren't you?'

Hagrid blanched visibly.

'Er, yeah. I won it down at the village las' night. The stranger seemed quite glad ter be rid of it, really.'

'Hagrid, you do know that it's illegal to have a dragon, even if you won it,' Neville said uneasily as Cassy and Harry moved closer to the fire in order to get a better look.

'What are you going to do with it? A dragon will be hard to hide,' said Harry, sizing up the egg.

'Don' yeh worry 'bout that. I've been readin' up on 'em. Jus' gotta keep the egg on a fire, 'cause their mother's would breathe on 'em. When it hatches yeh feed 'em a bucket of brandy and chicken blood every half-hour.'

'Brandy?'

Hagrid smiled proudly at the egg. Remembering himself, he stooped down and began to collect the shards of the broken mug into his hands.

'We can do that Hagrid,' Harry said quickly, but Hagrid waved his hand dismissively before he could move to help.

'Nonsense. Yeh jus' sit down.'

Cassy and Harry moved away from the fire, deciding it was far too warm as it was in the hut and that they did not need any extra warmth from their close proximity. They seated themselves again and waited for Hagrid to sit himself before asking their second question.

Hagrid set the mugs down, a small smile still on his face at the thought of the egg.

'Hagrid, are there any other protections regarding the Stone, other than Fluffy?' asked Cassy, sipping her tea. She held the mug awkwardly, both hands wrapping around the unusually large surface.

'Well, of course there are,' he said. 'Somthin' like that ought to be as well protected as possible, don' yer think?'

'We were just wondering who else may have been involved. It is clear that only those Professor Dumbledore trusts most could be a part of something as important as this. It is evident he trust you immensely, but we are having a little more trouble imagining who else there would be.'

Hagrid felt himself blush slightly and he beamed at her words. Cassy offered a practised smile, her tone warm and her words kind.

Harry and Neville gaped. If they had not already talked about the best way to approach the matter, they may have believed her every word. That was not to say she was lying, because it was true that the Headmaster trusted Hagrid immensely, but her proposed motive was false and she felt the slightest bit of guilt when the other looked so earnest.

'Can' hurt, I suppose. Let's see... there were quite a few enchantments, McGonagall, Sprout, Flitwick... Quirrell an' Dumbledore himself... oh yeah, Professor Snape too.'

They stared in mild surprise. It made sense that Professor Snape had been involved because it explained how he knew of the Stone's presence at Hogwarts. It also meant that Professor Snape would be more likely to know what enchantments are protecting it and how to bypass them, leaving Professor Quirrell as the last line of defence.

Oh dear, Cassy thought, what a man to place all your hopes on.

Hagrid began chatting cheerfully, his eyes drifting back over to the dragon egg every few minutes to check for signs of movement like a mother watching her baby.

'What kind of Dragon is it?' Neville asked, watching Hagrid.

'Norwegian Ridgeback, very rare, them.'

'I still don't understand how you plan on keeping it,' said Cassy. 'You live in a wooden house.'

Hagrid was not concerned. 'I'll work somthin' out.'

Unconvinced, but somewhat amused, they remained in the hut for a little longer before venturing back to the castle for dinner. The main topic of discussion, though hushed and code-worded, was the dragon and how exactly they were going to persuade the persistent man it was not a good pet.

'He has Fluffy, so it obviously doesn't matter that it's dangerous,' whispered Harry.

'Nor that it's illegal, considering the books he had stacked to prop up that chair in the corner,' said Cassy quietly.

She took another forkful of the pasty, slowly looking around at the people closest to them, eyes flicking behind them or at the table occasionally to hide her stares. Looking back at Harry and Neville, she could see their minds reeling. Harry's eyes were alive with a curious glint, but Neville seemed to be sinking farther into his seat with each thought that crossed his mind. His face was slightly pale, shoulders dropped in defeat and his fork stabbing at his food, but never making it to his mouth.

Cassy tried to catch Harry's eye, however, he was too intent on sawing through his beef to look up. Wanting to get his attention without drawing attention from elsewhere, she kicked him.

Harry yelped, straightening up. He stared at Cassy before turning to Neville beside him with wide eyes. Neville looked back questioningly, but Harry saw Cassy wave her hand slightly.

'Nevermind. I kicked myself,' laughed Harry and Neville looked sceptical, but returned to eating.

Cassy shot Harry a meaningful look, her head inclined slightly towards Neville, but Harry was not sure what about Neville she was trying to point out. She nodded again, eyebrows drawn slightly. Harry looked at Neville, stared at him until he began to realise just what Cassy had noticed. He frowned slightly too, his lips pursing and looked back at Cassy. They exchanged a troubled look.

Dinner soon ended and Neville excused himself, saying he wanted to ask if Madam Pince had seen his Transfiguration notes he lost on Monday. While both Cassy and Harry knew this was probably true, he had mentioned asking that morning, but had forgotten, they could not help but notice his peaky appearance. They allowed him to leave without a fuss and were quickly seated in the common room once more.

'What do you thinks wrong?' asked Harry. 'He was fine earlier.'

'I cannot be certain, but... well; you have noticed Neville is quite meek?'

'Yeah... it's kind of hard not to' he said slowly.

'Well, he does not like the get into trouble. In fact, he lets people do as they please just to avoid it.'

'...You think he's upset about Hagrid having a dragon?'

'Yes, that is the only thing he could be upset about that we did today.' Cassy's voice dropped low. 'Remember his reaction to Fluffy and the troll?'

Harry sighed, staring hopelessly at Cassy. He knew his friend had been petrified by them both, but a baby dragon was far less dangerous. At least he hoped so – Harry suddenly realised just how little he knew about them.

'He could say something. He didn't have to come with us!'

'He will though,' said Cassy quietly, 'we're his friends.'

'But... we wouldn't make him if he didn't want to. He should just tell us. Do you think we should speak to him, or leave him be for now? He might warm up to the idea. If he doesn't, we can speak to him then – if this is definitely what it is about.'

'Yes, I admit there might be other things causing him to be upset. It's just an idea.'

'I know.'

They sat in an uncomfortable silence, watching the other Gryffindors talk and laugh while they waited for Neville to return. When he did, they did not ask. He looked calmer and seemed to have brightened a little from dinner. The thought remained in their minds however and both Cassy and Harry vowed to keep an eye on him.

Cassy retired to her dormitory early that night, eager to leave and think by herself, away from Harry's glances and Neville's silence. If anyone, she expected Neville to confide in Harry anyway, so it was in everyone's best interest she parted when she did. Inside, the only other occupant was Granger, who sat cross legged on her bed with a large book in her lap. She was still studying and did not look up when Cassy entered, nor did she move to make any notes. It was most likely a book she had read many times before.

Silently, Cassy moved towards her own bed, kneeling down at the end in front of her trunk. She rummaged around in it for a moment, before pulling a folder from the bottom. Turning towards the other from where she knelt, she said: 'Do you want to borrow these?'

Granger looked up, blinking as she eyed the papers.

'The EagleStone reports.' Cassy waved the folder gently at her.

'Oh,' Granger said, straightening up, 'You'd let me read them?'

'Yes, of course. You are interested, aren't you?'

'Yes,' she said immediately, stretching out her arm to take them as Cassy stepped closer. 'What ones are in here?'

'Several on each of the subjects we take and some on Magical Theory, but that's for background reading really. It's quite simple, at least in those.'

Cassy decided she need not try and inform Granger more on it, because the girl was clearly not listening. The other was flicking through the pages, looking at the titles of each one with great interest. When she reached the end, she flipped the folder closed and looked up at Cassy.

'Thank-you.'

'You're welcome.' Cassy retreated back to her bed and left Granger to read by herself. Within the next few days, she would most likely return the reports, having read each one several times and memorised them word for word. Part of her wondered why she had even offered, but Cassy could not come up with a good reason not to, for she knew Granger would return them and Cassy no longer required them. Still, she surprised herself, but no more than she had apparently surprised Granger. She had taken it as an opened pathway for mutual workmanship and Cassy suddenly became the centre of Granger's work-based ideas and issues, which she was not entirely sure what to make of just yet.

Over the next few weeks, Neville had returned to his normal self, albeit slightly stressed because of the ever growing amount of work they were being set. With exams being held in just over a month, the teachers were pushing for them to revise, each giving copious amounts of work as if there subject was the only one the students were taking.

'I want your brain,' Harry mumbled one morning in late April, slumped over his breakfast.

Cassy laughed, peering across at him as she spread jam on her toast quite cheerily.

'You really don't.'

'I really do.'

Harry looked over to Neville for his opinion, but the blond-haired boy was fast asleep, his head resting on his folded arms.

'Late night?' asked Cassy.

'He was still doing his Potions essay when I went to sleep at one. Who knows when he actually went to bed?'

'Why was he doing it then? We don't have Potions today.'

Harry shrugged. He leant over and carefully pried a piece of parchment out of Neville's hands and unfolded it. The longer he looked at it, the higher his eyebrows rose. His hands moved down to get a better look at the end lines, allowing the top half to fold over. Cassy read the upside down writing, her own eyebrows rising slightly as well.

'I don't actually know what subject that's for,' Harry said finally, before passing it to Cassy.

'This surely is not an essay.'

Harry shrugged and took a sip of his pumpkin juice. Taking it back from Cassy when she had read enough, deciding it had best not be an essay, Harry folded it up and slipped it into Neville's hands again.

Just as he was about to wake Neville, the familiar screeches filled the hall and a mass of owls flocked in through the open windows. Neville shot up in his seat, almost slipping off the back of the bench.

'Good-morning,' Cassy smiled as Neville stared around him, bewildered.

'Nice of you to join us for breakfast,' added Harry.

Hedwig swooped down, nibbling Harry's fingers as he raised them to stroke her. She had a note tied to her leg, which Harry quickly pulled off.

'It's from Hagrid,' he said. 'The egg's hatching.'

Despite the majority finding a dragon hatching far more interesting than singing flowers, they all went to Herbology anyway. Even Neville, who had a great love for the subject, could not keep his attention solely on the lesson and Cassy was the only one of the three who could multi-task well enough to exchange excited words with her friends and make notes at the same time. As soon as Professor Sprout opened her mouth to dismiss them, they were already out the door.

Knocking loudly on Hagrid's door, they peered at each other eagerly and tried to peak through the tiniest gaps in the closed curtains. The door was quickly wrenched open. Hagrid stood looking as if he had won the Quidditch World Cup by himself.

'It's hatching. It's almost out now.'

They tumbled in and stood around the table, the dragon egg in the centre. As they watched, the egg wobbled and cracked, the sounds growing louder and louder inside the small hut. The three leant closer while Hagrid practically had his nose pressed against it already. The cracking increased and suddenly the shell splintered, shooting across the table as a small, black mass flopped onto the table.

The dragon's skin was shiny and its wings crumpled and waxy in appearance. Its head was almost half the size of its body and it had large, protruding orange eyes that remained dazed and confused as it shook pieces of shell from its feet.

'Look at him,' breathed Hagrid.

The three certainly were looking... with varying levels of disgust and interest.

Cassy had half a mind to touch it, at least the spines on its wings, but thought better of it when the light shone brightly through the windows, illuminating the mucus that coated the creature.

'Isn't he beautiful?' Hagrid cooed as the dragon sneezed, shooting sparks across the table.

'It's kind of hideous,' mumbled Harry, watching Hagrid stroke the creature. 'Looks like an umbrella.'

'Bless him,' Hagrid said loudly, 'he knows his mummy!'

'Mummy?' Neville mumbled, staring as Hagrid tried to pat it again, only for the dragon to snap at him and stumbled.

'Hagrid, these dragons grow very large. Wherever will you keep him?' asked Cassy.

Harry flicked a piece of shell across the table and the dragon span around to look at them, emitting a pathetic noise, much like the meow of a kitten.

'Well-' Hagrid stopped suddenly, eyes bulging and lips whitening.

The three looked up curiously as he rushed to the window.

'Someone saw –some kid...'

Harry and Cassy ran to the door.

'Draco,' said Cassy. 'Oh dear, he must have overheard us leaving breakfast.'

'He'll tell someone,' Neville moaned. 'There's no way he won't try and get us into trouble.'

However, there was no sudden screech of a teacher or a call to the Headmaster's office to expel them. Instead, Draco just pranced around like usual, although his head was held a little higher and his smirk was a little wider. He would look over at them with unrestrained triumph, finally having something to hang over their heads that they could not easily fight back against.

That did not mean they did not try. Cassy, Harry and Neville spent those days trying to either persuade Hagrid to get rid of the dragon himself, something he refused adamantly, stating 'Norbert' was just a baby and so could not be released into the wild, or devising a way to remove him themselves. However, they did not know exactly who to hand a dragon over to, especially one that was growing as rapidly as he was.

As they sat in the common room, lounging by the fire, Harry suddenly had an idea.

'Charlie,' he said.

'Who?' Cassy and Neville asked together.

'Charlie Weasley. On the train, Ron mentioned he had an older brother who worked in a dragon reserve in Romania. All we have to do is contact him. He might come out and get it.'

'We do not have the faintest clue where in Romania he is and if he would help three strangers move an illegal animal,' said Cassy slowly. 'Still, it is the best idea we have.'

Harry bit his lip, frowning.

'I can ask the twins.'

'You can't tell anyone else, Harry! What if they disagree and tell others. We'll all get into trouble,' refused Neville, shaking his head violently.

'What other choice do we have? Besides, I'm sure they'll find it great fun.'

Reluctantly, that became the plan of action. After Quidditch practice Harry would pull them aside and ask them. Cassy and Neville were left waiting in the common room that evening, watching the door closely for any of the three to step through it.

Neville fidgeted again, almost slipping out of his seat as another person came through the door.

'Relax a little. Staring will not help,' said Cassy.

'I can't just switch off like you.'

Neville eyed the book Cassy was reading with disdain.

'It is called a distraction; I cannot just "switch off".'

Cassy made little quote marks with her index and middle fingers and Neville puffed out his cheeks. They waited for ten more minutes before the clock his eight-thirty and they knew Quidditch practise was over. Cassy shut her book and joined Neville in staring.

After two false calls, the portrait finally opened and Harry, Fred and George stepped through together. Harry was beaming.

Cassy and Neville let themselves relax and waited for Harry and the Weasley twins to pull up chairs.

'You three have been busy,' said Fred.

'A dragon? We never would have guessed,' said George.

'Not really surprising though.'

'Not with Hagrid.'

'We'll ask Charlie on one condition.'

'You have to let us see it.'

'We can do that,' said Harry. He nodded and looked at Cassy and Neville, urging them to do the same and follow his lead. They were not about to disagree as it was their only option, but that did not mean they were truly pleased about the entire situation.

'You will not tell a soul, will you?' asked Cassy quietly.

'Not one,' said George, dragging his fingers across his chest in a cross.

'It wouldn't do us any good to get expelled,' added Fred.

Cassy knew she would just have to trust them and while Fred and George seemed like good people, it did not mean that she could rely on them. Besides what Harry had told her, she knew next to nothing about them and it all just did not sit right with her. Looking over to Neville, she could tell he was having similar concerns. Even Harry looked slightly peaky once the deal was sealed.

It took less than a week for the twins to come bounding up to them during breakfast with a reply. The slumped down on either side of Neville, surprising him and making him spill pumpkin juice all down his front.

'Charlie said he'll come,' whispered Fred. 'He's bringing some of his friends.'

'We'll take it to the tallest tower on Saturday. Nothing to worry about,' said George.

'You?' asked Harry. He frowned, caught somewhere between surprise and suspicion, but the twins just grinned at him and tapped his arm.

'Yeah, it'll be nice to see Charlie. Besides, you three would probably get caught.'

'Yes, it would be best to leave it to the professionals like ourselves.'

They sauntered off, ruffling Ronald's hair as they went, making him protest loudly and choke on his bacon. Dean and Finnigan laughed loudly. Ronald grunted and flicked beans into Finnigan's goblet, who remained oblivious as he took a deep swig and simply looked between Ronald and Dean as they roared merrily.

Cassy, Harry, Neville and the twins went down to Hagrid's hut later that day to tell him of Charlie's reply. Hagrid looked heartbroken. Even knowing that they were going to be sending him to a better home, Hagrid openly wept now the arrangements were final. He gazed down at the baby dragon, which was now four foot long and ever growing.

'I'll miss 'im,' Hagrid sobbed, patting Norbert on the back with one hand and blowing his nose with a large cloth with the other.

The dragon paused mid way though chewing the table leg to roll over and snap at Hagrid's hand.

'He's only a baby... jus' playin'...'

They left quickly, promising to come back tomorrow and collect him before Norbert could swipe anyone else with his tail, something Neville defended as being extraordinarily painful. The others were not keen to test that and hurtled themselves out the door as Norbert tried to make a break for it, threatening to knock them all flat against the ground.

Nobody uttered another word about Norbert until dinner on Saturday. They were pleased to be getting rid of the dragon, as well as the hold Draco currently had on them, but Cassy and Harry kept swapping looks that made Neville uncomfortable. If he were to watch carefully, he could have sworn he saw them looking between themselves, the to the Weasley twins, then to the entrance hall.

'What is it?' he asked, looking across at them both wearily.

'Nothing,' said Harry quickly 'Well, not nothing exactly. Me and Cassy were...'

'Harry and I wanted to follow the twins and see Norbert depart,' said Cassy bluntly. Her fork was still in hand and she swirled the potato around on the plate as she looked at him, keeping up a casual appearance even when Neville had abandoned his.

Neville blanched, shoulders sagging. He mumbled, 'You're not serious.'

'Yes, you do not have to come though. Not if you do not want to,' she assured, moving her hands away from the other and holding them up in a universal surrender sign.

'We know you don't like Norbert, so if you'd rather skip this one it's fine,' added Harry. 'We do have a plan though.'

They smiled encouragingly at him, trying to ease any fears Neville may or may not have. He just sighed in response and picked up hid fallen fork.

'I'll miss this one, thanks,' he said finally. 'I've had enough of dragons this month. He almost took off my leg.'

The smiles stayed on their faces, but they were both slightly disheartened that Neville did not even think to ask about their plan. Even if they had only spent ten minutes devising it, curiosity should have dictated a question, even if he did not wish to go himself. With a sunken heart, Cassy knew it meant Neville really did not approve.

'That's fine,' she assured. 'What we really want to see is how they plan on getting Norbert to the tower without being seen. We won't be going near Norbert really.' It was a weak justification, but she almost felt the need to and from the look on Harry's face, he too was trying to find a way to win Neville back on side.

'If you're sure you don't want to go, we'll tell you all about it tomorrow, okay?'

Neville nodded, internally shaking his head slightly at his friends' enthusiasm. He really did not see why it mattered how the Weasley twins were going to get it up there, as long as they did. He let them go with no questions and the topic was dropped. Quietly, he bid Harry farewell and good-luck when he slipped out of the dormitory at eleven.

In the common room, Cassy sat in a chair in the corner of the room. It was one that was hard to spot in the dim light of the roaring fire, but it gave her a clear angle of both the boy's staircase and the portrait hole. Quickly Harry joined her and they flung the Invisibility cloak over them and hurried down the flights of marble stairs; Fred and George having departed sometime earlier. They stood in the entrance hall, cold and invisible with not even the creaking of pipes to keep them company.

'I do wish they would hurry up,' said Cassy as she pulled her dressing gown closer to herself. 'I feel rather silly just standing here, even if no one can see us.'

'I just hope they come back before Peeves shows up again.'

They waited for another ten minutes, when the cold was really beginning to set in a numb their fingers, before the front doors opened and the head of Fred Weasley poked through, looking around. He frowned slightly before ducking away again. Then, the doors opened fully and he reappeared with George at his side, pushing the crate. They stopped after they shut the door, staring at a piece of parchment and looking up again.

Cassy could see the ink on the tattered parchment, lines of it streaking across every fold. Fred looked up, directly at them and looked down again, both of their eyes narrowing. He started moving forward, arm stretched out, but Cassy and Harry both quickly moved backwards before he had a chance to touch them.

'They've moved,' George said, peering up. 'They're over there now.'

He pointed to Fred's left and he swiped out a hand.

Narrowly avoiding it, Harry opted for the easiest option and flung the cloak off them. 'Stop it,' he ordered.

'An invisibility cloak,' the twins said together, eyebrows rising.

'We thought as much, given how we couldn't actually see you,' said Fred. He ran the flowing, silver fabric through his fingers before letting it drop again.

'Why are you following us?' asked George.

'We wanted to see how you planned on getting Norbert up to the tower unseen,' Harry admitted in a tone that suggested he felt the slightest bit foolish now.

They looked slightly amused, turning to each other before grinning and sighing dramatically.

'Good, but not good enough,' George chided.

'You can't follow us. We're professionals, remember?'

'Oh, because of this map?' Cassy's voice made them all jump, George especially as he had not heard her approach him. She wretched the parchment out of his hand and backed away, looking at his intently.

'Oy!' cried George, making to swipe it away, but she moved again.

'This shows everyone,' she muttered, unfolding it.

In the centre of the current folded page were five dots. Each one had a label, reading out the names of the four, plus a small one for Norbert that was attached to a lager blot. Tiny words made up each wall boundary, each staircase and dimmer, smaller letters signified doorways.

'Everyone. What they're doing-'

'Where they are-'

'Who they're with-'

'Everyday,' they finished together.

Harry peered over Cassy's shoulder, eyebrows raised as he noticed his own label.

'There we are,' he said, pointing. 'This would be so useful.' He began to unfold it to get a better look at the entire castle.

'We'll lend it to you sometimes,' said George.

'If you lend us that cloak of yours,' finished Fred. 'Not that we really need it of course.'

Before they could come to any final agreement, there was a loud huff and smoke shot across the floor, marring the stone with deep black marks. Startled, the three turned to see Norbert trying to gnaw through the crate.

'Anyway, we're on a tight schedule. Must be off,' said Fred cheerfully and reclaimed the map.

'You can come, but don't be seen.'

'We would have gone regardless of your permission,' stated Cassy, making Fred and George grin as they began to heave the crate forward.

Cassy and Harry were covered again by the cloak and they trailed behind the two, weaving down corridors and passages they had never seen before. Watching Fred and George trying to push it up all of the stairs was both amusing and painful. They had to resort to propelling it up every now and again with their wands, because Norbert was simply too heavy to lift with a hovering charm. In one, the crate almost became stuck because it was so narrow, but they pushed on and managed to get to the tower just before midnight. Charlie was already there with three others. Fred and George greeted him cheerfully and introduced Harry and Cassy.

They did not talk long though. Norbert was beginning to gnaw through the bars and the last thing they needed was to have a dragon set loose in the castle. Charlie and friends hooked the crate up to a harness they had made, connected to their brooms. They departed quickly, turning to wave at them, which Fred and George returned with vigour.

Relief washed over Cassy and Harry as they and the twins made their way back to the common room. The dragon was gone and so was the constant paranoia that Draco would tell someone. Even if he did now, he had no evidence. The entire plan had been completed without a hitch and they could not wait to tell Neville.

* * *

**Haha, just when I'm fairly happy with where my story is going, I find I'm on PotterSues. Oh, well, things happen. If I do get anyone reading this that has linked from that site, then I ask you to offer me constructive suggestions for future chapters. I would appriciate it because I don't really want people thinking my story is completely dull. I would also like to say I am not surprised I ended up on there and I follow the blog a lot, but I am slightly (or more than slightly, really) gutted I ended up on it. So, please be kind and help me along.**

**I had hoped that by adding in bits of my own and changing the ways things happen would make it more interesting, but does it make it sillier instead? I can't really help that now, but I can bare it in mind for the future, I have no plans on giving the story up, even though it's been rated bad.**

**I would also like to thank my new Beta reader who is trying to help he iron out things I need to and decrease the Ron and Hermione bashing, which is still not intentional, by the way. I'm working on it.**

**Thanks!**


	12. Necessary sacrifices

C. M. Black: Heart of a Lion

**Chapter XI: Necessary sacrifices **

Harry had just finished his explanation of last night's events to Neville when Professor McGonagall came striding over, her lips tightly pursed. She stood in front of them expectantly, as if waiting for them to launch into an elaborate simply stared.

'Did you two tell Mr. Malfoy a certain ridiculous tale yesterday?' she said, carefully looking over the three of them.

Cassy's eyebrows raised slightly, she had expected Draco to tattle, but it was certainly not yesterday he found out about the dragon. Something clicked in her mind. Draco had over heard them again. He had heard their plans to move Norbert that night and he must have told a Professor. Eyes sliding shut, Cassy let out a deep, silent breath of annoyance.

'What?' Harry said dumbly.

'Did you tell Mr. Malfoy that you have a dragon?'

'We certainly did not,' Harry said before his mind had a chance to catch up with him.

Professor McGonagall scowled at his tone, fury beginning to bubble in her eyes. 'He was out of bed last night. I caught him and he said you had a dragon. Why would he say that if you hadn't told him? It's a ridiculous excuse.'

'We did not tell him that, Professor,' said Cassy.

'Then why, Miss Black, was I informed by Miss Patil that you were not in your bed after curfew?'

'Excuse me?'

Oh, dear; was Cassy first thought. Normally, Professor McGonagall would have ignored such a ridiculous tale, but her insistence suddenly made sense. She wondered what else Draco might have said, like whether or not it was Hagrid's dragon, but she was brought around again by the Professor's shrill voice.

'I asked multiple first years and I have been told both yourself and Mr. Potter were out of bed in the night. It is a little coincidental that Mr. Malfoy should be spouting nonsense about a dragon when you yourselves were up and about. What were you two doing – in fact, it doesn't matter. The point is you two were up after curfew and must be punished for that, if only that.'

'Professor,' said Harry desperately, 'there was no dragon.'

'Oh, I don't doubt that! You two may have told him some ridiculous tale to get him out of bed and into trouble, but I am not disputing that there was no dragon. Did you two get yourselves up to watch?' Professor McGonagall snapped, openly scowling now. Her hands were on her hips, clearly stating that she knew they were lying, even if this was only half true, and her face held a certain no nonsense vibe that meant the conversation was really already over.

'Professor, we would never-'

'Quiet, Black. I'm horrified you were both out of bed, past that, I don't want to know anymore. Twenty points each and detentions, I think. You two can join Mr. Malfoy in his punishment.'

'You are being presumptuous-'

'Enough. do not speak to a teacher like that, Miss Black. Another five points.'

Cassy grit her teeth, her eyes darkening.

'Do not be late for class. Good-day, Mr. Longbottom.' With those parting words, she exited swiftly, leaving the three stunned first years by themselves. Several other house-mates were listening in, although it was hard to miss. Others watched from the corners of their eyes, then openly staring once Professor McGonagall had left.

'Forty-five points,' Harry mumbled. 'We've lost our lead.'

'This is ridiculous. She does not even know where we went, or if we were even really gone,' seethed Cassy, her face only slowly minor irritation, despite her voice. 'You can't just assume we were out to get him.'

Harry rubbed his eyes, muttering, 'Everyone will be so angry. We're in second now. Slytherin is winning again.'

'How dare Draco do something so stupid.'

Neville's eyes flicked nervously between the two, realising they were not listening to each other at all. He was glad, in some regards, for he was not involved, but at the same time he really felt he should be.

Although the loss of points was not major, people quickly noticed. There was not a soul in Gryffindor who was not horrified to see Slytherin winning again and rumours quickly spread in speculation of how so many where lost.

Eventually, it all came back to Cassy and Harry. People soon connected the dots, although it was mainly due to the first years gossiping that they had been out of bed that allowed the older ones to realise just what had happened. The exact reason remained unknown, Cassy, Harry and Neville unwilling to say and Draco did not speak up either because he knew nobody would believe there had really been a dragon. Saying he had told a professor would only make him look silly for thinking their could be.

While there were jeers and jabs about it, as well as running comments in lessons from the first years, nothing really came of it. Cassy and Harry had it pinned down to the fact that Gryffindor remained in close second. If they won their next Quidditch game, they would definitely be in with a chance of winning the house cup, which meant Wood was training his team harder than ever.

The practises were longer and Harry would always return completely exhausted. It did not help that exams were only a few weeks away now and classes and homework had intensified tenfold in the run up. They had little time to themselves and when they were not in class, they were working.

Studying had offered a good distraction, one that was almost good enough to push all their previous thoughts of school out of their minds. They had not even snooped around to check on Fluffy or Professor Quirrell himself that week, choosing to keep themselves locked in the library.

Cassy spent half her study time talking over concepts and spells with Harry and Neville. She did not seem overly fussed about the oncoming exams, but sat and worked with them anyway. It had meant more than once they were evicted from the library when Granger had complained she could hear them clearly. How she had they would never know.

However, Cassy had developed a comfortable working relationship with Granger – assuming she did what she was asked, when she was asked. For as much as Granger seemed to appreciate Cassy's intellect, they still struggled around the characteristic boundary in their methods, but as long as Cassy did not publicise it, Granger was content to let it go. Granger had even began helping Neville more in potions, whispering corrections in his ear when Cassy was too distracted or too far away. Out of class, Cassy still found her relatively dull.

Harry had been trying extra hard in lessons to answer questions correctly in order to win back some of the points they had lost. It was working and the gap was closing, but it was a very slow process and he was becoming bored of it very quickly. By the end of his Charms lesson and the fifth squeak of 'Well done, two points to Gryffindor', Harry had decided never to bother again.

They climbed the stairs, Cassy smirking at Harry's down-turned expression, having told him he would be aggravated before it really made a difference. They past a door, pulled to, with a small whimpering emitting from inside.

'N-no, please,' a voice they recognised as Professor Quirrell's said. 'Please, not again.'

They moved closer silently, trying to hear whoever it was he was speaking to, but instead they just heard him. There was not even the slightest murmur of anyone else and at times, Professor Quirrell's voice dropped so low they could barely hear that either.

'All right... yes, fine. I understand.'

Footsteps suddenly sounded and the three of them pressed themselves back against the wall. The door swung open, blocking them from view as Professor Quirrell scurried down the corridor and out of sight.

Moving quickly, they poked their heads into the classroom. A door was open on the other side. They stepped in, Neville hanging back slightly to watch the corridor as Cassy and Harry weaved their way past the tables. They stopped suddenly.

'What is it?' asked Neville.

'It's a cupboard,' said Harry, walking farther into it. 'There's no one here and no where to go.'

'Which poses the question of exactly who Professor Quirrell was talking to,' mumbled Cassy, her eyes trailing across every surface. There was not even a fireplace.

'Maybe he was having a nervous breakdown or something.' Harry poked around of the shelves a bit before stepping out of the cupboard.

'Yeah, maybe Snape's finally made him crack... I hope not,' Neville added in afterthought.

They peered around in silence for a moment, a small crack of the window made them all flinch. Whirling around, they looked at each other.

'We should go before someone notices we are in here alone,' Cassy said, ushering the boys out the door. The left it open, just as Professor Quirrell had in case he were to return and grow suspicious at the change, but quickly hurried out of sight down the hall to pretend as if they were never there.

'What should we do?' asked Neville as they sat at a table in the library.

'There is nothing we can do at the moment. We cannot know that Professor Quirrell really did give in, plus, we are not supposed to know about the Stone,' Cassy said quietly to avoid Granger overhearing.

'We can't even go to Dumbledore. Imagine the questions he would ask. We'd probably be expelled straight away, especially if we're not right. What if Quirrell hasn't given in or Snape's not trying to steal the Stone. That would be awkward,' said Harry, flicking the pages of his astronomy book over. 'And what if we are right and nobody believes us? Snape knows I hate him and Dumbledore will definitely believe him over us. He trusts him enough to protect the Stone...'

'So, we leave it and see what happens,' concluded Cassy.

'If something bad happens we'll try and stop him,' agreed Harry.

'He is a fully grown wizard, you know,' Neville said nervously.

'Then we will merely try and slow him down,' Cassy said airily. 'The Headmaster must have wards on the room to inform him of people entering. If he does not respond immediately, then the best we can hope for is that we slow the Professor down enough to give Professor Dumbledore time to arrive.'

'You make it sound simple...'

At breakfast the next day, both Professors Snape and Quirrell were present, allowing the three to relax knowing the Stone was most likely still on the third floor. Midway through breakfast the owls began to arrive, Cassy and Harry had small cards drop into their laps. They read:

_Detention will take place tonight at eleven o'clock._

_Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall._

_Professor McGonagall._

'I was wondering when these would arrive,' said Cassy, placing it down and picking up her fork again.

'Eleven is a bit late, isn't it?' frowned Harry.

'What do you think we will be doing?'

'Can't be nice if Filch is involved.'

'It would hardly be detention if it were enjoyable.'

Neville smiled at his friends, still feeling slightly bad that, despite being involved, he had got away with no punishment at all. He looked over to Draco, spotting his detention card crumpled in his hand.

'Neville?'

Neville jumped, eyes spinning back to Cassy. He had been looked past the two and they turned in their seats to try and find what had caught his attention.

'Y-yes?' he squeaked, face turning pink.

'You zoned out,' said Harry.

'Were you looking at Draco? He looks displeased.'

Harry moaned loudly into his hands. Shaking his head slightly he said, 'I forgot that git is coming with us.'

'Language, Harry,' chided Cassy dismissively.

That night Neville waited up, wishing them good-luck as they left. Cassy and Harry sauntered down to the entrance hall, neither in any rush to see Filch or Draco. From a staircase four floors up, they could already see the both of them on the ground, but still chose not to hurry. Harry even suggested slowing their pace further just to make them wait longer. When they did arrive, the other parties looked extremely irritated.

'You're late,' Filch sneered.

'Not quite,' said Cassy placidly.

The man just barred his teeth before waving his hand, indicating for them to follow. They moved out onto the grounds, trailing far behind Filch and ignoring his grunts for them to hurry up.

'You'll think twice about breaking the rules again, won't you? Oh yes, oh yes, hard work and pain are the best teachers, always have been. Back in the day there was no nonsense about child cruelty or whatever they like the call it. I remember when you could string children up by their ankles in the dungeons... I've still got the chains and whips, just in case the Headmaster ever sees sense...'

The three students lagged back farther, horrified. Draco looked to Cassy, his eyes wide and mouth open. She gave him her own shocked look before turning away quickly, still annoyed with him.

Filches lantern swung slowly in his hand, squeaking faintly as they stopped near Hagrid's hut. The windows were lit and the door partly opened, allowing them to see the roaring fire inside.

'Filch? C'mon, I want ter get started already,' Hagrid's booming voice said from the vegetable patch beside his hut.

Cassy and Harry visibly relaxed and Harry even let out a small sigh. Filch must have heard because he swung around, snarling.

'You won't be enjoying yourself with him, boy. Oh no, you three'll be going into the forest tonight.'

'The forest?' Cassy and Draco said together.

'We can't go in there,' protested Draco, his voice tinged with panic. 'There are all sorts of creatures in there – Werewolves, I've heard.'

Filch grinned, his lips turning up at one side more than the other, revealing his sharp and yellowed teeth. 'Should have thought about that sooner. Besides, Werewolves will be the least of your problems.'

'If we cannot enter in the day, surely it is a terrible idea to have us enter at night. That is far more dangerous,' said Cassy, her eyebrows furrowed slightly.

'Maybe that's the idea,' grinned Filch. 'Nothing like a good mauling to sort out unruly children.'

Hagrid met them half way, crossbow resting on one shoulder and a pouch on his belt containing bolts. Fang, a large boarhound, was at his heels, drooling tremendously onto the grass.

'I've been waitin' long enough,' said Hagrid. 'All right you two?'

'Hello, Hagrid,' Cassy and Harry greeted simultaneously.

'You shouldn't be so friendly with them, they are being punished,' said Filch. 'Coddling them will do no good.'

'Been lecturin' again, Filch? Is that why yer so late? Yer shouldn't, it's not yer place to, they probably got enough o' that from Professor McGonagall. I'll take 'em from here.'

'I'll be back at dawn to collect what's left of them.'

Filch turned and scurried back to the castle. They waited until he was almost out of sight before speaking.

'Righ' then,' said Hagrid, drawing attention back to himself, 'we'll be-'

'I'm not going in there,' Draco interrupted loudly. 'There's no way.'

'Yer will if yeh want the stay at Hogwarts.'

'I thought we'd be writing lines or something. Not going out into the Forbidden Forest! If my father knew about this-'

'Yeh reckon he'd rather have yeh expelled? If that's what yeh wan' yeh can go up to the castle and pack yer things! Go on,' snapped Hagrid, not waiting for Draco to move before turning and striding towards the forest.

Cassy, Harry and reluctantly, Draco followed him. He talked as he walked, stopping at the edge of the forest.

'Right, what we're gonna do is dangerous, so listen up. I don' want anyone taking any risks, understand?'

Hagrid pointed using is crossbow to a narrow beaten path in the forest, lined by trees and roots jutting up from the soil haphazardly. They could only see six of so feet in front of them, even with Hagrid's lantern.

'See that silvery stuff on the ground,? he said, leaning the light closer. 'That's unicorn blood. That means there's a unicorn that's been badly hurt or maybe even dead. I found one dead last Wednesday. We're gonna find the poor thing and if it's not dead, we'll put it out of its misery.'

Cassy's eyes narrowed, not liking where the conversation was going. She looked at Harry, who was gazing curiously, then to Draco, who just scrunched up his nose in disgust.

'What if whatever hurts the unicorn gets us first?' asked Draco.

'Nothin' will hurt yeh while me an' Fang are around. Right,' said Hagrid, 'we'll split up into two groups to cover more ground. Harry, yeh with me, Cassy, yeh go with Draco and Fang. Got it?'

Hagrid either did not see the restrained, but clearly displeased looks Cassy and Draco wore, or he chose to ignore them. With a sympathetic smile, Harry patted Cassy on the shoulder.

'Yeh can all shoot sparks, can't yeh? Green ones if yeh find the unicorn, red if there's trouble. We'll come an' find yeh, but be careful. Okay, let's go.'

With one last withered look at Harry, Cassy strode down the path to the right. Draco sighed some distance behind, but quickly caught up as Fang galloped past her to chase bats. They walked in silence for many minutes, just listening to the sway of the leaves and twigs snapping beneath their feet. Cassy hopped over a large, protruding tree root before hearing a satisfying thud, signalling Draco had fallen over.

'You could have warned me,' he growled, brushing leaves off his coat.

'Why would I do that?' she asked, not hiding her smile.

Draco just growled again, swooping past her and farther into the forest. He stepped past ever obstacle with exaggerated movements, but never turned back to Cassy, whom simply looked on amused.

'Branch,' she said suddenly.

Draco's head whipped around to look at her, but his feet did not stop moving. There was another thud and Draco reeled in pain.

'I warned you.'

'You did that on purpose!'

'Of course I purposely warned you.'

He snarled, stepping back over to her and staring down in what would have been intimidating, had Cassy not been so used to him. 'What is your problem?'

'My problem?' laughed Cassy bitterly. 'Dear Cousin, I do not have a problem. That is you. You are the one who either ignored me or went out of your way to irritate me and my friends. You are the one who had chosen to act as though you do not know me, that we are not family, just because I am in Gryffindor. I am not the one with a problem.'

Cassy pushed past him, lantern in hand and moved quickly down the pathway. Fang let out a whine as he ran to keep up.

'You don't get it, do you? You're a Gryffindor, you're friends with Potter and that Squib, Longbottom-'

'Do not insult them, Draco.'

'You even defend them! You'd argue with me for them. With _me_, your cousin. Do you know how bad that looks?'

'You know, you are the only one who cannot be happy for me. Uncle Alphard, Cousin Cissy, they both accept I am a Gryffindor. Why can you not?' she snarled.

'I always thought we'd be in Slytherin together!'

Cassy allowed herself to pause, sparing a quick glance over her shoulder at Draco, who looked shocked and uncomfortable with himself.

'Well, we are not,' Cassy said quietly. 'You can at least act civilly towards me and my friends, as I would to yours.'

'I would if you had better friends. Potter and Longbottom, really, Cassy?'

'Do not ruin it now, Draco. Insult them and I will hex you in the face.'

'No you wouldn't.'

'Oh really?' Cassy turned, her wand drawn and her lips pulled into a smirk. Draco stared, wide-eyed before scowling.

'Made you jump,' she teased, turning back around and walking on.

They were already deep into the forest, the trees were taller and their trunks thickened. Every few trees were splattered with the silver blood. The unicorn must have been on the move, sluggishly brushing against the tree trunks and staggering slowly to create such a pattern.

'It's over there,' Draco said, pointing off to the left where more blood lay on the ground.

They began to move that way, but Fang suddenly stopped. Cassy and Draco halted behind him, watching and standing silently as the dog's ears rose. His head moved slightly to the right, yet Cassy and Draco could see nothing. They waited for another minute, before Cassy gripped her wand tightly, pressing the lantern into Draco's chest and set off.

'What in Merlin's name are you doing?' hissed Draco, torn between following and remaining exactly where he was.

'There's a lot of thuds, quiet ones,' Cassy mumbled. She stopped suddenly to listen closer and Draco drew up behind her, leaning close. 'I think I can hear-'

'Back! Get back!' shouted a voice.

'Cassy!' Draco shouted despite himself. He reached out to pull her back, but his fingers only skimmed the sleeve of her coat.

Cassy had set off running as soon as the voice sounded, straight towards it. She pushed back branches and jumped over the roots, down into holes and darted past the trees. Stopping suddenly, she pressed herself against a tree as she heard footfalls which where not her own and heavier than any human she had ever heard. Her left hand rose to her mouth, trying to muffle her shaky breathing.

The feet grew louder and she could clearly hear multiple movements, she was out numbered, most likely, with little to rely on, but stealth. However, that did not act in her favour.

'Human, get out from behind that tree.'

Cassy stiffened even more.

Human, he called me a human, she thought quickly, that means he is sentient and capable of creating multiple footfalls – more than two legged... Centaur?

She peered out slowly, brining her wand hand around first. There were two centaurs, one who looked annoyed and one who had a much kinder face.

'What were you doing?' said the black-haired, angrier looking centaur.

'A very poor job at hiding, apparently,' answered Cassy lowly.

This made him scowl more, but the other smiled slightly. He said, 'How many humans are in the forest tonight? You are not the first we have met. By the sounds of that, you are not the last.'

Cassy could hear nothing, but the two centaurs looked past her into the dark.

'Excuse me, but may you tell me where that shouting came from? I am trying to find the others,' she asked, not expecting much in return. Centaurs were not helpful at the best of times and one of the two was particularly grumpy and the other appeared quite spacey. She was pleasantly surprised with the response she got, though.

The red-haired centaur gave a sorrowful smile, saying, 'Over there, Child.' He indicated back the way the centaurs had come. 'They will not be there now though, I expect Firenze had guided them out by this time. Are you also a student up in the castle? I have been told you learn a bit.'

'Yes,' said Cassy. She did not have to think of anything else to say because Draco and Fang suddenly came thundering down the path.

'Werewolves! I saw one, I swear!' Draco panted, bending over.

'Draco, I find it hard to believe there are any in this forest.' She looked down disapprovingly of his rude and unannounced entrance.

'The forest holds many secrets,' said the mournful centaur. It did little to comfort her, for that only made it sound as if she was wrong, which she really rather not be at that time. Looking up, she could not see the moon through the trees, so she had no way to tell if it was a full moon and potentially in danger, or not.

Draco's head shot up, looking as if he had only realised there were two centaurs in front of them. He stood with his mouth agape.

'Humans have no business here. Leave,' the dark-haired one snapped, finally having enough of the conversation. He pointed to their left.

'Pleasure to meet you both,' Cassy said, pulling Draco by his sleeve as he continued to stare at the two centaurs.

'Learn lots,' said the sorrowful one.

They began walking out of the forest quickly. Cassy took the lantern back from Draco, who stared over his shoulder until the trees became too thick to see them anymore.

'Hurry, Draco. Something might have happened.'

'What?' he said dumbly, jogging to catch up with her.

'Hagrid and Harry have already left the forest. There was shouting, so something must have happened. They didn't even send up sparks.' Cassy added in her mind that they very well might have, but the dense growth she and Draco had wandered into left very little in the way of sight.

'Oh good-'

'Draco, I will still hex you in the face,' she warned sternly.

'Why in my face?'

'Because you pride yourself in it and would not be able to hide your pig snout.'

'Pig snout?' cried Draco in disbelief, 'Why would you give me a pig snout?' He covered his nose with his hand.

'If you insist on acting like one you may as well look like one. Besides, it would be one hex for every friend of mine you insult.'

The trees were beginning to get thinner and their leaves more sparse, allowing the moonlight to shine in and illuminate the forest floor. The ground was softer and they both faced sinking mud at several points before choosing to deviate slightly to one side and step on as many roots as possible. With leaves crunching beneath their feet, Cassy almost missed Draco mumbling.

'I do not act like a pig.'

She did not reply for the edge of the forest was in sight.

'Harry, Hagrid!' she called, spotting them by Hagrid's hut.

'Cassy, are you all right?' Harry shouted back, running to meet her half way. From what was visible, Harry looked fine. There were no scratches on his face or hands, but the sleeves of his coat looked dirtied and his hair stuck up a little more than she remembered before entering. His skin was a pasty white colour that accentuated his eyes in a most unflattering, haunted manner, but that seemed to be all that was wrong.

'I'm fine, but I heard shouting. What happened?' she asked.

Harry leant close to her ear and muttered, 'I'll tell you in the common room.' He pulled away just as Hagrid reached them.

Hagrid looked her over and nodded, then turning to Draco, who stood some feet away.

'Yer all okay, aren't yeh?' he asked. 'Yeh can go back the yeh common rooms now then. Detention's over.' He seemed subdued and shaky and Cassy wished to ask him what had happened, but his hut door was shut loudly and his lights flicked off before she had a chance to make a sound.

After that, they departed quickly, splitting from Draco and hurrying back up to the common room as quickly as their aching feet would allow.

Neville was asleep on the sofa by the fire, having tried to wait up for them to return. He was shaken awake by Harry and as soon as he sat up, Cassy and Harry threw themselves down on either side of him.

'I've got so much to tell you two,' breathed Harry, pulling off his shoes.

'Did something happen in the forest?' Neville asked, suddenly wide awake.

'Kind of. I met someone, well some people, really – although one of them wasn't actually human... maybe neither of them were-'

'Harry, calm down,' said Cassy, leaning forward so she could see him past Neville. 'Explain slowly.'

Harry breathed in deeply. 'Me and Hagrid found the unicorn-' neither he nor Cassy bothered to reply to Neville's enquiring expression, '-it was dead, but there was something leaning over it, something covered by a cloak. They were drinking the unicorn blood.'

Cassy's and Neville's eyes opened wide and Harry took the moment to breath in deeply again.

'Hagrid started shooting at them with his crossbow, but it didn't really do anything... then Firenze – a centaur – appeared and drove it away. He offered me a lift because I'd slipped onto my side, it feels fine now though. As we walked, he told me exactly who was under that cloak.'

They lent closer, Harry's voice dropped to a whisper and said, 'Voldemort.'

Neville retracted in shock, his hands flying to his mouth and elbowing Cassy in the shoulder.

'The Dark Lord?' asked Cassy. 'How did he know?'

'Apparently, it's written in the stars. So is my death. Bane, another centaur, was under the impression that Firenze should have let me die and that they should not mess with fate.' Harry laughed bitterly, rubbing his eyes. 'Now all I have to do is wait for Voldemort to get the Stone, then he'll come back and kill me.'

The fire flickered and the three sat in silence, mulling over everything. Neville shook his head fiercely.

'Y-You-Know-Who fears Dumbledore. As long as he's around, nothing will happen to you.'

'Not if Snape gets it and gives it to him. What's to say he won't just kill me during the summer?'

'Harry, stop it. Nothing will happen. We will not let anyone take the Stone. Especially not... Voldemort,' Cassy said, testing how the name sounded on her tongue.

The statement was met with silence. The fire crackled and the chair squeaked, but none of them knew what else to say. Harry rubbed at his face, violently scratching at his scar, while Neville stared straight ahead, vacant expression, but ghostly white.

Cassy lent back and sighed. 'The idea of an immortal Professor Snape was bad enough. Although, if he did become rich he might have stopped teaching.'

The pair looked at her incredulously and even she could not believe she had said it. While it sounded like a good idea to cheer the two up, or at least make them relax, it just sounded ridiculous. Even though, Harry shook his head.

'That would be great,' snorted Harry. 'That, I could live with.'

The sun began to rise and the three felt exhausted, mentally and physically, unwilling to move. They did make it up to bed, falling asleep almost instantly, just as the rest of the castle was beginning to rise.

* * *

**Nearly the end of the story now! Two chapters after this one, I think, then it's on to Year Two.**

**They got detentions, a) because they needed to, and b) because McGonagall flew off the handle at them in the book, so I figure they'd still be punished, if less severely for being out of bed and "making Draco follow". Since she had no evidence as to what they were actually doing, things don't turn out as bad.**

**And so, the reasoning for Draco's mean behaviour towards Cassy is revealed! It would be quite heart-breaking to be in a different house when you always thought you would be together. Plus, how could you act friendly when people expect you to hate one another now? Problems, Problems...**

**Also, sorry if this ones seems really dialogue heavy. A lot of the things addressed are best done in speech so...**

**Thanks!**


	13. Into the rabbit hole

**A.N: Sorry about this one. It is not too different from Cannon. I apologise, but the next chapter should be more original content.**

* * *

C. M. Black: Heart of a Lion

**Chapter XII: Into the rabbit hole**

There were often too many minutes in a hour, but never enough hours in a day. Although the days themselves seemed to disappear suddenly, the minutes spent in the stuffy classrooms scribbling down answers to questions never covered and reciting information that will never be needed in later life, dragged on for what seemed like an eternity.

Seven of the eight first year exams were completed, it was only History of Magic remaining, which threatened to the most tedious and trialling of all exams. It contained no practicals, as that would be exceedingly difficult unless the students were to re-enact a war, and instead consisted of a two hour written exam on whatever Professor Binns pleased. With this in mind, everyone began revising Goblin Wars, ignoring everything else completely.

Charms was, in the opinion of many, easy to pass. Professor Flitwick called the students one by one into a separate room and asked them to make a pineapple tap dance across the desk. Everyone had, in varying degrees, succeeded and they remained hopeful that all the exams would follow Professor Flitwick's example and give them an easy and fun test.

Much to their delight, stern Professor McGonagall only asked them to a mouse into a snuffbox. She gave points for its colour and shape, but deducted points, as Neville found, if the box retained whiskers. Harry told him he should have said it added flare and it was all intentional.

The only exam that threatened to be worse than the upcoming History one was Potions. The student's were to brew a Forgetfulness Potion, but in the heat of early June and the fumes from twenty cauldrons, everyone was feeling hazy and struggled to remember what step they were at. This was only made worse by Professor Snape, who stooped past every student, eyes flickering over the contented, occasionally clicking his tongue and saying nothing more.

When his back was turned, Harry caught Cassy's eye, pulling a wide-eyed grimace. Her lips pulled up into a smile before it was suddenly dropped just as the Professor spun around and began his rounds down the next row.

As soon as the samples were labelled and collected and Professor Snape inclined his head, they fled. No one spoke a word until all forty first years burst into the entrance hall, far enough away that they felt safe to talk.

'I think the fumes were getting' to me,' Finnigan said, fanning himself with a textbook. 'I couldn't remember what to do for the first ten minutes.'

'I couldn't think with Snape breathing down my neck,' said Ronald.

'It was awfully warm, though, I suppose you can't open a window because potions can be very temperamental,' Granger added, trying to flatten her bushy-hair that had expanded even farther in the humidity.

'Plus, there are no windows in the dungeon,' said Cassy, flatly.

Granger huffed, shooting her a dirty look before rooting in her bag. She pulled out a large, battered book on Werewolves and threw herself down on a nearby stone bench.

'That wasn't so bad,' said Brown. 'I think I've done quite well.'

'That's because you're really good at potions. I just hope I pass,' Patil sighed.

The conversation began to waver into a casual passing of events. Catching Harry's eyes, Cassy jerked her head backwards and pinched Neville's sleeve, pulling the straying boy along. They wandered down the baked stone steps to the Black Lake and sat under a large, shady tree, far away from anyone else.

Neville lay flat on his back and Harry pried off his own tie before following suit. They simultaneously breathed out a giant puff of air and wordlessly agreed then and there was most definitely a good place to nap. As the boys shut their eyes and enjoyed the cool shade, Cassy made herself busy by plucking up wild flowers that grew around them. She took each flower individually, weaving the stems together and around tendrils of long, thick grass that spurted at the base of the tree.

The voices that sounded from the castle gates had faded, leaving only the rustling of leaves and the occasional ripple of water audible over the sounds of their own breathing. There was a slight crinkle as a single green leaf touched the top of Cassy's head. Having heard it more than felt it, Cassy blindly patted her head, picking the leaf of once she felt it under her palm. She looked upwards.

'There is a nest,' she said, watching two birds peck at the intertwining sticks.

Harry and Neville opened their eyes just long enough to locate it.

'Really, you two are so lazy.'

'It's the fumes,' mumbled Neville.

'Can't possibly concentrate now.' Harry smirked, casting a sidelong glance at Cassy, just in time to see her roll her eyes.

'Or maybe you are tired because the pair of you went to bed late. Wizarding chess is not difficult to learn.'

'Says you,' Neville yawned. 'Your mind is built for it, mine isn't.'

'I need to learn it. Ron slaughtered me at Christmas,' added Harry, throwing an arm over his eyes.

'Why were you playing chess with _Ron_?' asked Neville, pushing himself onto his elbows and frowning at Harry. 'Everyone knows Ron is the best at chess in our year. Perhaps the while House!'

Harry just waved his hand dismissively, explaining: 'He offered and I was bored. I was trying to kill time, but the matches didn't last very long. He kept winning in under three minutes, until he decided to give me a chance. I still lost.'

Harry sat up and Neville followed. Each of the three could picture the match well, for Ronald was nothing if not formidable at the game.

'Harry...' Harry looked towards Neville, who quickly dropped his gaze to the ground. 'a-are... you all right?'

Harry blinked slowly, replying 'yes' and continuing to stare at the other.

'Well, it's just... you... you've been having nightmares a lot lately.'

Harry was suddenly aware of the worry etched onto Neville's face and the intensity of Cassy's eyes on the back of his skull. He sighed, turning to look towards the lake and ruffling his messy-black hair even more.

'I...' He allowed himself to trail off, unsure of how to continue. 'I keep seeing him – Voldemort – when I was in the forest or getting the stone-' He shook his head fiercely, eyebrows knitting down into a deep, worrisome scowl.

'I have been thinking about it a lot, but it must be much worse for you given everything,' said Cassy, lowly. She began threading the leaves again.

'I had a nightmare once,' admitted Neville, 'but nothing as bad as it seems you've had them. Mine ended all right, because I knew that as long as Dumbledore is here, nothing will happen.'

'Yeah,' Harry mumbled, not sounding convinced in the least. He tugged his knees higher to his chest, allowing his back to hunch before feeling a sudden weight on his head. Straightening back up slightly, he looked to his right to see Cassy folding her hands back into her lap. Slowly, he reached up and lightly felt along the object, then, realising what it was, carefully pulled it off.

The grass and stems were neatly folded around each other, brightly coloured flowers facing outwards and gathered in little bunches at set intervals. Harry turned the loop in his hands several times before allowing himself to be wholly impressed that he could not find the joint in the band of flowers.

'I'm not a bridesmaid,' he said, but put the wreath back on his head anyway.

'I would be concerned if you were,' she replied lightly. 'Wreaths symbolise strength.'

'Great. I'll take it to fight Voldemort with me.'

'I would be distraught if you didn't.'

Neville snorted quietly to himself, falling backwards and closing his eyes. He could feel twigs digging into his sides, vowing next time to bring a blanket to lie on. It was a thought that stuck firmly in his mind, for the next after-exam visit the trio had under the large oak; Neville had brought a large, tartan blanket, which he quickly threw himself on and sighed loudly.

'Enjoying yourself, Nev?' laughed Harry as he dropped his bag on the ground, taking a seat next to him.

'I am now History is over.'

'It was not actually that difficult. It is fortunate that Professor Binns is rather predictable,' voiced Cassy as she took a seat on Harry's other side.

'I want at least an E for that essay,' said Harry, while stretching his fingers. His fingers then rose to his forehead where they rubbed along his scar briefly before dropping to his lap.

Cassy frowned slightly, pausing with one hand in her bag. Her large, blue eyes remained pinned on the other's forehead, even when Harry had shaken his head and hair had fell to hide the marred skin. As he turned away completely, Cassy pursed her lips.

'How are you, Harry?' she said, removing her hand without extracting anything. 'Do you have a headache?'

'What?' he asked surprised. He squinted faintly, before moving his fingers back up to his scar. 'A headache? No, it's not that. My scar keeps hurting.'

'Your scar?' Neville squeaked, sitting up faster than they had ever seen him move before. 'What does that mean?'

'I don't know. I think it's a sign- a warning.'

'And this has been happening for the past week?'

Harry looked mildly surprised that Cassy had noticed his irritation, but nodded anyway. 'Yeah, it's been a lot worse in the past hour though.'

'But...' Neville began hesitantly, 'if it's a warning... a-and you got that scar from You-Know-Who... you don't think...?'

'That's exactly what I think,' replied Harry, firmly.

Neville gapped, glancing to Cassy, who wore a troubled face, but not one of surprise. She had already assumed as much once Harry said it was thought to be a sign and given the unusual circumstances in which he got it, he was probably right. Voldemort was going to make his move soon.

'Do you think we should tell the Headmaster?' she asked, moving to pull her bag strap back over her shoulder.

Harry pursed his lips, looking towards the lake briefly before nodding.

'Let's go.'

They moved quickly, adopting the pace of one who had somewhere to be, yet with no great desire to be there, even if it was important. Harry stood to help Neville fold his blanket neatly and waited for him to put it in his back again, without any sign of impatience.

At this rate, he will probably disappear down a corridor when we are not looking and not come back for three days, Cassy thought, despite not really wanting to explain their past school year to their headmaster either. She knew, in many degrees, it would be harder for Harry than for her, but it did not mean she was eager to either be expelled for breaking a dozen school rules, or leave the subject and allow Harry to be right. Voldemort returning was ultimately worse as she saw little good in remaining at school only to be killed in the next year.

They ascended the stone steps quickly enough, but their pace slowed to a lazy stride once they reached the entrance hall.

'Does anyone actually know where Dumbledore's office is?' asked Harry, a blank expression beginning to takeover.

'No,' Cassy and Neville answered together.

'I thought one of you might have known, if not, my next move would be to ask a teacher,' said the former, slowing to a complete halt at the foot of the marble staircase.

'We'll have to,' Harry agreed. 'Dumbledore's office isn't exactly sign posted, is it?'

'Who do we ask?' Neville looked worriedly between the two.

'Someone who will not ask too many questions,' Harry decided. The three remained in silence for several moments, before Harry signed loudly and ruffled his hair. 'I don't know anyone like that.'

'I am afraid I cannot think of one either. We would need a good excuse,' said Cassy.

'Well, what kind of reasons do other people go to him for?'

Neville shrugged and Cassy looked thoughtful.

'You could get into trouble,' she suggested. 'If it's severe enough, you will go to his office. Then, I suppose, you could explain your reasoning. Although, there is a strong possibility you will just get detentions from now until the holidays...'

'I'd rather not,' Harry frowned. 'Do people really not go to his office for anything else?'

'Perhaps,' she supplied, unhelpfully. 'It can always wait for this evening. You could try and catch him after the feast.'

'That sounds easier,' Neville agreed from his seat three steps up. 'That won't be too late, will it?'

'I've been having them all week, a few hours can't hurt, surely,' shrugged Harry. A feeling ebbed at the back of their minds, one that made their insides squirm uncomfortably. Regardless, they all nodded to each other, before jumping at a sudden voice.

'What are you three doing? Mr. Longbottom, do not sit on the staircases. Up, up!'

The trio's heads turned to see Professor McGonagall striding across the hall, arms filled with heavy, faded books. Neville stood up swiftly, tripping over himself slightly as he did.

'Good afternoon, Professor,' Cassy greeted, offering a small smile. 'Would you be willing to direct us to Professor Dumbledore's office?'

Harry and Neville blinked in surprise.

'Professor Dumbledore's office?' Professor McGonagall questioned, shifting the books in her arms. 'Why would you need to see him?'

'Well, we do not need to. We were just curious. Fred and George Weasley mentioned being sent there once and it occurred to me that while I know the castle fairly well now, I still don't know where his office is. It would be useful to know, we thought, because he is rarely seen other than dinner. I do assume his office is the best place to catch him?'

'Well,' Professor McGonagall blinked, 'I'm not surprised Messrs Weasley were bragging about being sent there. I bet they thought it was very amusing. As for the Headmaster's office, it is on the third floor, behind the Gargoyle. However, I warn you, it is password protected and I am only telling you this because I trust you will not abuse this knowledge. If there are any disruptions regarding it, I will know it was you three.' She eyed them critically, watching as they nodded their heads dutifully.

'Do you know if he is busy? I would like to ask him about Wizingmot,' Cassy asked, pushing a little further.

'I am afraid Professor Dumbledore just left not five minutes ago. He received an urgent letter and was forced to leave right away for the Ministry of Magic – Potter, Longbottom, whatever are those faces for?'

Harry and Neville had turned stark white, staring petrified at their teacher. Cassy had paled, but her expression remained far calmer than her friends, her shock only evident in the slight widening of her eyes.

'He's gone?' squawked Harry.

'Yes, he is a very important man. The school is not his only priority at the moment, Mr. Potter. Do not look so surprised.'

Harry opened and closed his mouth several times before turning on his heel. He yanked Neville off the steps by his elbow and pushed Cassy's back, forcing the pair to run with him back to the double doors that led to the grounds.

'Harry? W-where are we going?' called Neville, once Harry had let go of him. Harry had not slowed though and they were forced to sprint, haphazardly jumping into sudden dips and practically falling down the latter part of the hill. They stumbled to a stop, remaining several feet behind Harry, who was furiously battering Hagrid's front door.

'Hagrid, Hagrid!' he called, moving back to glance at the windows before knocking again. 'Hagrid!'

'Harry?' questioned the familiar, deep voice. Hagrid emerged from the other side of the hut, bushy eyebrows furrowed and a bucket in his hand.

'Hagrid,' Harry cried, quickly moving to stand in front of him. 'That night – that night when you won Norbert, who exactly were you playing cards with? What did he look like?'

Hagrid raised his eyebrows at the question, but looked thoughtful and answered, 'Well, I don't know. He never said and he kept his hood up.'

Harry resisted groaning and slapping his palm against his forehead.

'Did you mention your occupation?' Cassy said, catching Harry's eye. 'Did you say anything about Hogwarts?'

'Well, yeah. I told him I was a gamekeeper and I explained about the creatures I look after here. Told 'im I always wanted a dragon, he seemed interested... I don' remember much after that, to be honest. He said some'in' about not wantin' the dragon egg to go to any old home, need proper care, dragons do. I told him it would be no problem an' we started talkin' about Fluffy...'

'Was he interested in Fluffy?' asked Harry, his shoulders sagging more with each word Hagrid spoke.

'Of course!' he exclaimed. 'Who wouldn't be? It's not often yeh hear about a three headed dog, even around here. I told him lookin' after a dragon would be easy, yeh just gotta know how to calm 'em. I said, look at Fluffy; yeh jus' play him a bit of music and he falls straight to sleep-'

'O-oh, Hagrid!' whined Cassy, staring at him pleadingly.

'Please tell us you didn't,' cried Harry in much the same manner.

'I shouldn't have told yeh that,' he said, horrified. He moved to heard them in close, but they were already running back up the hill. 'Where're yeh goin'? Come back!'

They flew into the entrance hall, skidding to a halt.

'What are we going to do?' cried Neville, hands on his knees while he tried to catch him breath.

'Dumbledore's gone and nobody will believe us,' muttered Harry, clutching his hair in a fist. 'Firenze might support us, if he isn't stopped. If we get him to back us up maybe McGonagall will believe us and she can get Dumbledore to come back immediately.'

'It is the perfect opportunity,' nodded Cassy, biting her lip lightly. 'He will probably strike tonight, when his absence will not be noted and when he will not be caught by any students.'

'So what do we do?' Neville looked fearfully between them, already knowing what was whirling through their minds.

'I believe you go out and enjoy the sunshine,' a deep, monotonous voice sounded from behind them.

For the second time that afternoon, they flinched and turned to see a familiar face, once more hoping they had not been overheard.

'Professor,' Cassy nodded.

'Miss Black,' he said back, possibly less enthusiastic than his previous comment. 'What are three young Gryffindor's doing inside on a day like this? If you are not careful someone might think you're up to something...'

They stared, Cassy and Harry too unwilling to give anything away and Neville too scared.

'Everyone knows Gryffindor can't afford to lose any more points... you would do well, Mr. Potter, to refrain from any more night time excisions, unless, of course, you wish to be expelled.'

Professor Snape turned and slunk towards the staffroom. None of them moved again until his footsteps could not be heard.

'Right,' Harry whispered as they began making their way to the common room. 'Someone needs to trail Snape, to keep an eye on where he's going and alert the others if he goes near the third floor. Cassy, you do that.'

'Me?'

'You'll be best at hiding.'

'And if I am caught? I have few excuses.'

'You made up an entire story for McGonagall and on the spot. You'll have no problem.'

'That was easier because we were not seeking her out; instead, she came to us, which allowed me to use such an excuse. Lingering near the staffroom when Professor Snape clearly has suspicions regarding us will not be so easy.'

'Can't you just...' Harry waved his hands, 'I don't know, just pretend to be asking someone about some work?'

'We have been set no work to ask about. Besides, you can't even make have me ask about test answers because everyone is aware I don't tend to fret over such things. That is more Granger like.'

'Fine. Neville, you trail him – oh, don't pull that face. It's really obvious if I do it and you do fret over your work a lot, so it would be less suspicious. See?'

Neville sighed deeply, staring forlornly at the floor while turning and plodding back towards the staffroom.

'I feel bad when he pulls that face,' Harry admitted as they continued down the corridor.

They seated themselves on the plush sofa in front of the stone, unlit fireplace. The common room was empty; everyone having retreated outside to enjoy the temperamental May weather, something they longed to do, but could no more.

'How do you expect Neville to contact us if Professor Snape moves?'

Harry shrugged slowly. 'Run here?'

Cassy resisted rolling her eyes at his obvious lack of thought. Instead, she stared out of the arched window on the left of the fireplace. She could see the Black Lake and what she thought was the outline of the giant squid near the shore, basking in the summer sun. Only the ticking clock filled the heavy silence that surrounded them, a self made prison of thoughts and fears that they refused to share.

Cassy wrung her hands in her lap, an open gesture of uncertainty that Harry missed, absorbed in his own mind.

'What are we going to do?'

Harry jumped, turning to look at Cassy with open eyes. He blinked slowly. 'What?'

'It's fine, trailing Professor Snape, but what do you expect us to do once he goes for the stone? Will we go after him?' she asked, looking down.

Slowly, Harry opened his mouth to speak, but the portrait hole suddenly swung open, silencing him. Neville staggered in, tears welling in his eyes.

'I lost him,' he wailed. 'H-he was there a-nd then suddenly he wasn't! I'm so s-sorry.'

They both stood and Harry patted Neville reassuringly on the shoulder.

'I suppose that settles it then,' he said, looking at Cassy. 'I know what I'll do.'

'W-what?' Neville mumbled, not really understanding.

'After Curfew, I'll get the stone. I'll try and get it before Snape does.'

'What do you mean "I",' Cassy scowled at him. 'I asked what _we _were doing, not your silly self.'

'Silly? I'm not silly,' Harry rebuked, taken aback by her words.

'Clearly, you are. Otherwise you would not expect me to let you go by yourself.'

'It's dangerous.'

As soon as the sentence left his mouth, he realised it was indeed a silly thing to say to Cassy. Like himself, dangerous things did little to deter her from things she thought were her responsibility – and Harry and Neville were most definitely on the list as things she had to care for. She had told them so once, likening it to looking after a plant or a cat and the sense of obligation one gained after time. Neville had just laughed as Harry tried to explain why that was a poor way to word such a sentiment. Although Cassy was aware of that even before it left her mouth, her friends new perception of her was worth seeing their bemusement. Neville also seemed to be growing less shocked by her everyday and it was a fun notion to test.

Cassy scowled deeper and Neville's mouth formed an 'o' shape as he caught on.

'You'll get expelled if you're caught,' he muttered.

'It doesn't matter!' Harry suddenly cried, turning to face the plump boy. 'If Snape gets the stone, we're all dead anyway. Voldemort would return and try to take over again. He would kill me in a heartbeat because I will never join him. What good is staying out of trouble if I just die anyway? I'd rather die trying and at least know I did all I could than sit here and wait for the end of the world – or even wait for the Professors to open their eyes and stop being so blind! I'm going to stop him, I'm going to try. I can't just ignore the man who murdered my parents.'

Harry breathed heavily, eyes flickering as if daring either of them to argue back.

'I'm sorry,' Neville said softly. 'I didn't mean it like that though. I meant you can't go alone, because if you're caught, they'll expel you, but if there are three of us, it'll be much harder to do.'

'Three?'

'O-of course, I can't just walk away now. I'd never live with myself if I did.'

Harry stared at the other boy, a small smile eventually gracing his lips.

'What makes you think that you both won't be expelled if we're caught?'

Cassy let out a sharp puff of air, a grim smirk gracing her pretty face. 'My uncle is one of the governors, if they tried to expel me, I would just tell him of all the _interesting_ things I have discovered this year. I'm sure the board would love to hear how there was a Cerberus in the building, or how a troll almost killed us because the Defence teacher employed is too inadequate to take care of it himself. They might even wish to hear of the Stone, knowing just who it attracts...'

'...You're a little scary when you do that,' mumbled Harry, shocked at the quiet, sugary tone Cassy used. 'You're going to blackmail Dumbledore?'

'I come from a strong family, Harry. There are many who would listen to my uncle just because of the age of my ancestry, let alone because of my uncle's professional reputation. So, I wager it would be worth a try. From what I understand, the Headmaster is not that popular with certain members of the board as it is...'

'Definitely scary,' Neville said, casting Harry a wary look, which he returned full vigour.

They resumed their seats on the sofa, squashing Neville on the end and Cassy in the middle.

'So, we wait?' asked Neville.

Harry nodded. 'We wait.'

They remained in the common room for the remainder of the afternoon, leaving only for dinner. They left early, none of them too keen on eating heavily, queasy and churning, their stomachs protested to their plans. The common room had begun to fill up quickly as the feast drew to a close, forcing the three to resume occupation of their table in the corner as not to be bothered.

Neville had slowly begun to pale over the last few hours, his decision finally beginning to set in, but he did not cower or retreat. His face would sometimes twist into a worried frown for a moment, before it would suddenly become comically stern, more akin to that of a warrior than a boy.

Quietly, they had discussed what their plan of action was, but as they did not know what to expect, the plan was rather weak. Defence and flying, it was agreed, were Harry's strongest attributes, while Neville's was Herbology and Cassy's was logic and transfiguration. Anything else they would need to figure out together.

They waited until everyone had disappeared into their dorm rooms, before Harry rose quietly from his chair.

'I should get my cloak. I just hope nobody is up, I don't want Ron asking where I'm going.'

Harry was only gone for the briefest of moments. He returned with the invisibility cloak slung over his shoulder and a wooden flute in the other. He waved his hand, signalling for them to come closer.

'We should put the cloak on now, that way, we'll know if it can cover all three of us rather than chancing it with Filch later.'

They nodded and huddled under the cloak. It was not as tight of a fit as they had expected, with all three of them being below the average height for their age. The cloak was designed for a tall man, evident by its length, and had little problem fitting them under it.

They crept out the portrait hole, weary of every shadow and turning at every creek. They moved slowly, despite their situation, to avoid attracting attention which loud footfalls from nobody would surely attract from anyone passing. They shuffled to the bottom of the first set of stairs and at the top sat Mrs. Norris, Filch's sharp-eyed tabby.

They climbed slowly and carefully, trying to ensure the cloak never shown their feet to some success. Her head turned, gazing straight at them, but she did not move. She must not have seen them.

They continued up the staircases, which remained eerily still during the night. It was not until they reached the third floor, did they meet another obstruction, one far worse than any cat.

Peeves was pulling up the carpet, ruffling the mat so people would stumble and fall in their half asleep haze tomorrow morning. He paused suddenly, turning towards them. His eyes never settled on them.

'Who's there?' he asked, eyes opening wide. 'I'll get Filch. There's something sneaking around unseen. I should get Filch.'

The trio looked at each other, each debating how to get around him. If they continued onwards, there would be a high chance he would hear and retrieve Filch, which would mean they would be in a lot of trouble, but they could not just remain where they were. Harry raised a hand, pressing his index finger to his lips.

'Peeves,' he rasped, ' the Bloody Barron had his own reasons for wandering unseen.' His voice, though hoarse like the Barron's, shared no other similarities. It was too high and too light, lacking the sharp edge he would always use with Peeves. However, none of this made a difference to the Poltergeist, as he dropped his hands immediately and straightened his back.

'Sorry, so sorry, Sir,' he cowered. 'I didn't know it was you, your Bloodiness, Sir. Sorry, my mistake.'

'Stay far away from this place tonight, Peeves. I have business here and I do not wish to be disturbed.'

'No problem, Sir, whatever you say.'

Peeves was gone in an instant.

'That was brilliant,' praised Neville silently.

Within two minutes, they stood in front of Fluffy's door. The door that led to that section of the corridor was already pushed open, only slightly ajar, but evidence enough that they had not beaten Professor Snape in arriving.

Harry fingered the wooden flute, raising it to his lips before hesitating.

'You two can go back if you want – take the cloak, I don't need it from here.'

'Oh, be quiet,' hissed Cassy. 'We are not going anywhere.'

'Don't be stupid, Harry, we can't turn back now,' agreed Neville.

Harry nodded slightly, then blew into the flute as Neville gently pulled open the door. They were met with the site of Fluffy's drooping eyelids and a huff of stale air as it sighed. Over to the right, Cassy could see a small harp, slightly mangled by the dog's feet.

'Someone's definitely been here,' commented Neville, also spotting the instrument.

Harry continued to play random notes, the sound erupting as owl hoots each time, but the Cerberus did not seem to mind and soon fell into a deep sleep.

'You need to keep playing, we cannot chance him waking if you stop,' said Cassy, slipping out from under the cloak and striding over to the trap door. Harry and Neville hovered close by.

'I cannot see anything, it's too dark. There doesn't appear to be anything to climb down with either.'

Harry stomped his foot, drawing their attention. He widened his eyes and indicated to himself with his spare fingers.

'You want to go down first?'

He nodded and Cassy took another look in the hole, when Neville suddenly spoke.

'Give the flute to Cassy, she can keep playing. I want to go second, I want to help.'

They both eyed him with surprise, but neither argued. Cassy moved to take the flute and in the few seconds the sounds stopped, Fluffy began to shift and growl. She began to play and he settled down once more.

Harry peered down the hole, seeing exactly what Cassy saw – nothing. He looked up at them seriously.

'I'll go first. If you don't hear anything, leave, get a teacher even, but get yourselves out. Only come down if I say so, okay?'

He dangled his knees over the edge and dropped off.

Cassy moved closer towards the edge and Neville glanced at her worriedly. It was several seconds before they heard: 'You can jump, It's fine. It's actually a soft landing.'

Neville dangled his feet over the edge, taking a deep breath and allowed himself to fall. He landed with an audible 'oof', breath leaving him as he hit the ground.

'C'mon, Cassy!' Harry called.

She stepped off.

The ground was only soft in regards that it was not concrete. It was not a comfortable landing, but she landed on Harry's other side. She looked around, eyes straining in the little light that filtered in from the trap door many feet above. They had landed on green vines that covered the floor and trailed up the walls. They plant shifted and shuddered.

'This is Devil's Snare!' Neville cried, pulling at his legs as thin vines wrapped around them.

'What? What's it doing?' Harry tugged at the tendrils that began to wined around his chest, only for his right hand to be captured and pinned.

'It's trying to strangle and kill you,' Neville gasped. 'Sunlight or something – fire. Cassy, make fire!'

Cassy was the only one with a free wand hand, or by this point, any hand free. She slipped her wand from her pocket and exclaimed: '_Incendio!_'. Fire burst from her wand and scorched the plant below. It withered and shrunk, dropping them down suddenly. They only landed several feet farther, hitting the stone floor roughly.

Harry rolled away from the edge of the wall, noticing the vines extended farther and they had only landed on a small canopy created by interlinking vines. The plant still surrounded them.

'Look,' said Cassy, looking down a long and barely lit hallway. The torches were haphazardly fastened onto the stone, meaning they were not original features and had most likely been added recently. Cassy assumed it was probably by Professor Snape, who had conjured them in order to find his way both there and back once he was done.

They hurried down the first few feet of the narrow corridor, eager to leave behind the murderous plant, but quickly slowed to a cautious stride, wands drawn.

'Can you hear that?' whispered Harry. Halting them.

There was a muffled, low and inconsistent sound like the beating of wings. It grew louder the farther they went until they emerged in a brightly lit chamber, with high arching ceilings. Hovering above, dozens of tiny, shining birds with too-large wings.

'There's a door,' Neville pointed out, indicating to the wooden door on the opposite side of the room. 'Do you think the birds will attack us?'

'Maybe,' mumbled Cassy, 'but I do not think they are birds. They look like... keys.'

'Keys?' Harry echoed, straining his neck higher. He could see the feathery wings beating furiously, connected to the small sparkling bodies that swooped and wavered hurriedly in the air. 'Right, even magical birds don't glitter then?'

'Some do, but these are enchanted keys.' Cassy was not really listening to him anymore, her thoughts stilling on the sight of the broomsticks in the corner.

'So, we have to catch them, one must unlock the door,' Harry said, soon spotting the broomsticks too. 'I'll go, no offence, but Neville, you can't fly well and I've never seen you fly Cassy, but...'

'I have never flown before,' she finished for him, nodding her head in acceptance.

'No offence taken, Harry. After what happened last time, I'm not too keen to try, really.'

Harry mounted the broom and kicked off. He flew high, stopping near the ceiling and scanning the flock meticulously. From below, Cassy and Neville did the same, each looking for an old, silver key to match the handle.

'I see it!' Harry called. He wasted no time in diving after it, weaving in and out of the other keys, which fled at his sudden movement. He shot up and then forward, spreading is hand flat and pinning the key to the wall.

'Did you get it?' shouted Neville, unable to see clearly.

'Yeah.' Harry descended, an old, crumple winged key clutched between his fingers. He passed it to Cassy, who quickly unlocked the door before letting it go again.

Harry his lowly, flexing his wrist. 'I think I jarred it, when I caught the key.'

'It's not broken is it?' said Neville, peering down worriedly.

'No, no I don't think so.' Harry pushed forward and into the chamber Cassy had disappeared into moments ago. The chamber was dimly lit, the light from the torches reflected off every polished surface, creating great orange streaks in across every black and white square.

'A chessboard? Who's is this then?' he mumbled, eyeing the giant figures on both sides. 'Do we...?'

'We must play,' Cassy confirmed, slowly walking around the back edge of the board. She reached out, gingerly touching the arm of the black Queen piece. Its head moved slowly and stiffly to look at her. 'Do we command?' the Queen shook her head. '...Do we take the place of the chessmen in order to play?' This time, she nodded, then turned to face forward again.

Cassy put a hand over her mouth and turned to say, 'I don't know what to do, none of us are that good at chess.'

'You're good at it,' urged Neville.

'Not good enough to risk our lives! I wouldn't even know how to begin when standing on the board.'

Her eyes were locked on the board and for several moments, she did nothing. Looking back at the others, Cassy nodded slowly, a plan evidently forming in her mind. She said, 'I will lead it. We have to try, I know.' She mumbled the last sentence to herself as she scanned the pieces.

Neither Harry nor Neville protested, both quite eager for her to take the lead in this challenge.

'This is the first -and hopefully only- time I have ever been envious of Ronald Weasley,' she muttered to herself. 'Right, Harry, you take become the bishop... Neville, you are to be this rook. I'll be the Queen.'

The black chessmen turned, backs facing the white and walked onto the edge surrounding the game, allowing the three to take their places. The stood straight and still, anxiously waiting for the white chessmen to begin.

When the white pawn moved forward two places, the game had officially begun.

Cassy schooled herself, shoulders dropping into a familiar curve, head held high and a placid expression took over. She directed the black pieces, envisaging the board from above and keeping herself as detached from each loss as possible. Her moves were slow and calculated, each move required a lot of thought that only fuelled her nerves with her own indecisiveness. Although she had no wish to, she moved Harry and Neville as Chessmen, pushing them out on the board. She kept a closer eye on them than any other pieces.

Their second black rook was taken, smashed by a white knight. Neville gulped loudly at the sight, hands shaking as he turned away.

'Neville, it'll be fine. Don't worry,' Harry tried to assure, but he took was slightly unsteady on his feet.

'You're not in danger, Neville,' called Cassy as another black piece moved and took a white bishop. 'Just trust me.'

Neville nodded furiously, but did not show any signs of calming.

Cassy kept her attention on the game, moving Harry two squares diagonally to the left and sacrificing the pawn. Her eyes whirled around again, watching the white Queen advance closer to Neville, passing him and swinging out at another piece. It shattered, spraying debris everywhere.

'Neville, no!' she screamed, panic building as he stumbled backwards, arms over his eyes to shield them from the marble. He brought his arm down suddenly, head swinging around to Cassy in dire realisation.

Her hands flew to her mouth, knees bending and back arching, but her eyes remained focused on Neville. He had hit the ground hard, but not as hard as the blow to his head had been and even as he lay on his side, she could see blood trickling down past his ear.

'Neville!' Harry cried, moving to run to him, but his sleeve was snagged by Cassy.

'You can't,' she insisted fiercely, 'we are still playing. You will be taken as well.'

'But – but we can't just-' he stumbled, looking at her desperately.

Cassy looked past him with the same desperate look, watching the knight step down from his horse to drag Neville to the sidelines, propping him up against the wall with the other broken black pieces.

The game must continue, she thought, and this must be wrapped up quickly.

She directed the remaining pieces stonily, her moves were reckless and her pieces taken quickly, but her plan worked. As the Harry moved to the right, the white King was trapped.

'Checkmate,' she called.

The King threw his crown to the ground and bowed lowly, the remaining pieces doing the same before moving to the sides and clearing the door.

Cassy and Harry hurried to Neville's side, the threat of Voldemort temporarily forgotten.

'Oh, Neville, I'm so sorry,' she whispered, patting his face.

'He's breathing,' announced Cassy, removing her hands from below his nose. 'The wound is bleeding a lot, but head wounds always do. I don't know what kind of a state he's in. He needs to go to Madam Pomfrey, but he might be fine until we return.'

They both knew she could not be certain, but Harry nodded and moved away regardless. They pressed on, pushing open the door and moving into another corridor with heavy hearts.

'It must be Quirrell's or Snape's next. Fluffy was Hagrid's, the Devil's Snare was Sprout's...' Harry rambled as he strode.

'The bewitched keys must have been Professor Flitwick and the chessboard could only be Professor McGonagall, although I wish it were something to do with Transfiguration. That was horrible.' agreed Cassy.

They quickly reached another door and Harry pushed it open without much thinking. It opened into a large, dark room filled with stale, warm air that forced them both to pinch their noses. In the far corner, there was another door, but in front of it lay a troll, larger than that they had faced on Halloween, out cold and face down.

'Let's move on,' said Cassy, without breathing.

Harry indicated for her to go first with his spare hand and allowed her open the next door. The site was not as disgusting and the smell was not nearly as wretched. The room was small, far smaller than any other chamber they had been in so far, and in the centre sat a table. Vales of varying sizes sat upon its surface, each containing a different coloured liquid.

Once they stepped in, purple fire erected from the ground and filled the doorway. On the other side of the room, black flames had done the same with the proceeding doorway.

'This must be Snape's,' said Harry, looking around as Cassy picked up a roll of parchment. 'What have you got?'

'Instructions, I believe.'

Harry moved forward, standing close to read over her shoulder. On it was a riddle:

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,_

_Two of us will help you, which ever you would find,_

_One among us seven will let you move ahead,_

_Another will transport the drinker back instead,_

_Two among our number hold only nettle wine,_

_Three of us are killers, waiting bidden in line._

_Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,_

_To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:_

_First, however slyly the poison tries to hide_

_You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;_

_Second, different are those who stand at either end,_

_But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;_

_Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,_

_Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;_

_Fourth, the second left and the second on the right_

_Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

'Good, logic I can do. This is straight forward enough,' sighed Cassy in relief. 'Although, it may not be.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, if I were to set a trap like this, especially to guard something as valuable as the Philosopher's Stone, I would not put instructions on the table with it. Actually, I might, but I would fill them all with poison, that way nobody will ever get it.'

Harry looked appalled, but Cassy was not looking at him.

'Cassy, that's not really something you should say,' he cried. 'What if they're all poison?'

'They cannot be, otherwise there would already be a corpse on the floor.'

That did not make Harry any more optimistic and his stomach began to churn as Cassy eyed each bottle carefully.

'Right,' she said after a moment, 'this one will take you forward.' She picked up the smallest bottle for Harry to see.

'That's only enough for one person,' he frowned. He looked at her and then at the bottles. 'Which one will take you back?'

Cassy pursed her lips, but tapped the bottle on the right end with her index finger.

'You should take that one,' he said, even though he knew she was aware of his decision before he voiced it. 'You need to get Neville and get out. Then, you have to send a letter to Dumbledore with Hedwig. We need him as soon as possible; I'm no match for Snape really.'

Cassy's frown deepened as he spoke, but she handed the bottle to him anyway.

'What will you do if Voldemort really is there with him?'

Harry shrugged, smiling weakly, saying: 'I was lucky once, right?'

'Luck is a rather poor thing to rely on,' she mumbled gravely.

'It's all we have right now.'

She stared at him, casting a quick glance at the black flames before slinging her arms around him. She pulled back as quickly as the hug had been engaged. While Harry had turned pink, Cassy had fixed a stern expression on her face. Although inwardly, she was surprised and embarrassed with herself.

'You are a good wizard, Harry, and an even better friend. I hope you have pockets full of luck.'

He smiled at her, going redder. 'So do I.'

Cassy picked up the little bottle from the end of the row and popped the cork. She drank the contents in one mouthful, nose crinkling as she swallowed.

'It isn't poison, is it?' he asked anxiously, eyes flicking over the row of bottles before landing back on her face.

'No, no,' she waved him off. 'It is just icy and thick.'

Cassy began to step backwards towards the purple flames, giving him one last nod before stepping through the barrier. She emerged on the other side, running through the troll chamber and down the hall. Upon entering, she noticed the chess pieces had repositioned themselves in their original places and their cracks heeled. They moved for her as she darted towards Neville, who remained propped up against the wall.

'Neville, Neville, can you hear me?' She tapped his face, but he did not stir. Biting her lip, she slung one of his arms over her shoulder and heaved him up. Neville was both taller and heavier than her and she stumbled, unable to move as quickly as she would have liked. 'If Harry expects me to get you through that trap door on a broom he has another thing coming.'

They keys were still fluttering high in the air when they stepped in. The old, silver key that belonged to the door was truly battered now and flew far slower and lower than the rest, but Cassy paid it no mind. She looked towards the broom propped up by the door and groaned inwardly. Removing one hand from Neville's waist, she awkwardly reached out to grab the broomstick, but quickly wished she had not.

The moment her hand moved, she felt Neville slip and although her right hand clutched tighter, Cassy was unable to stop him falling backwards and hitting the ground.

'Oh Merlin,' she hissed, crouching down beside him before pulling him to the side of the room to lean against a wall again.

Neville groaned, head shifting to the side and his eyes darting under his eye lids.

'Neville?' said Cassy, leaning closer to him. 'Come on, Neville.'

He groaned again and opened his eyes blearily, 'C-Cassy?'

'Yes, it is me. How are you feeling?'

'My head's killing me. What happened?'

'I will explain later, but right now we must get back upstairs and send a letter to the Headmaster.'

Neville nodded slowly and rose shakily to his feet, he waved his hand as Cassy moved to steady him. 'I'm all right, just a headache.'

Cassy doubted that, but passed a broomstick to Neville and grabbed another herself.

'Come on, we have to hurry.'

* * *

**Lots of rehashing of Cannon in this, I'm afraid. This is also quite a long chapter too.**

**I hope I managed to portray Cassy struggling with the chessboard, because while she is good at it, she is no Ron. Also, while it might seem a little unnecessary for one of them to be injured this time around, I wanted to show that Neville is still nervous and shy, despite having bursts of bravery. Thus, it had poor consequences this time. It should spur him on in the future.**

**The next chapter will be the final of the first year!**

**Thanks!**


	14. A Lion's feast

C. M. Black: Heart of a Lion

**Chapter XIII: A lion's feast**

Cassy and Neville had hurried out into the darkened corridor, sprinting down the marble staircases without bothering to hide under the cloak they had collected from the Devil's Snare chamber. They had not even wasted time ensuring Fluffy was asleep when they flew out of the trapdoor, instead opting to make a mad dash for the door. Growling and snapping followed, but they pinned it closed just in time.

They jumped down to the bottom of the last staircase when they came to a sudden halt upon spotting Professor Dumbledore in his buttercup yellow robes.

'Sir,' cried Cassy. 'You must get Harry!'

'Harry?' he repeated, slightly bewildered to see the pair. 'Whatever are you doing out of bed?'

'He's alone,' was all she said, staring at him imploringly.

The Headmaster's face grew grave and he passed them quickly, pulling his robes up as he ascended the stairs.

'Go to Madam Pomfrey – both of you.'

They watched him go, before Neville turned to Cassy and they began to walk. The both suddenly felt very tired, as if their legs were no longer willing to support them and their eyes sore and dry. The adrenalin that coursed through their veins had all but filtered out of their systems and the weight of what they had tried, and were still trying, to do was beginning to set in.

'What's going on? What happened?' shot Neville, staring down at Cassy intently.

'What do you remember?' she asked, not looking at him.

'Going to get the stone... we were on the chessboard,' he said.

'You got taken,' she mumbled quietly. She stared at him with a heavy sadness that he had never seen before and certainly never expected to see on Cassy's face. 'I should have prevented it. I knew you were nervous, I should have expected you to move when she took the other piece, but I didn't. I'm sorry, please forgive me.'

'What?' he asked dumbly. 'What do you mean?'

'The Queen took another piece and you stumbled when it shattered. It counted as our turn, so their knight moved and the horse hit you with its hooves.'

Cassy's eyebrows had furrowed, but Neville had to jog to see that. Her pace had picked up and he had lagged behind.

'I don't get it. Why are you apologising? That's my fault, I could have cost us the game.'

'I did not consider your feelings and it almost cost you your life!' She turned, rounding on him.

Neville halted, eyes widening. They suddenly softened and he placed his hands on her shoulders, insisting: 'It's not your fault. I'm... not as brave as you and Harry. I panicked. I should be able to take care of myself, not you, and you shouldn't have to worry about me... freaking out. I'm trying, Cassy. If I'm never in danger, I'll never learn, right?'

'I know and I know you re trying,' she muttered. His words did not squash all of her guilt, but they calmed her. 'Still, you're my friend, I would rather you not be in danger. I do not have many to lose, you see.'

Neville grinned and they turned to walk towards the hospital again.

'Nice to see your guilt doesn't kill your humour.'

'I am perfectly serious,' she insisted with a smile.

Neville just snorted and shook his head, soon wishing he had not as a wave of nausea hit him. Cassy reached out to grasp his arm, to keep him upright as he staggered. He placed a hand on his head, feeling the drying blood beneath his fingers, but did not comment. Instead he pressed on, 'What about Harry?'

Biting her lip, Cassy hesitated for a minute. 'He went on alone. There was only enough potion for one – the next task was a potion based one-' she clarified, catching Neville's confused expression from the corner of her eye, 'so it was decided I should check on you and get the Headmaster and Harry would go on.'

Neville paled. 'So he went on to face Snape and You-Know-Who alone?'

'There was not choice-'

'I'm not blaming you. You're blaming yourself,' he interrupted quickly. 'Harry chose to go on, didn't he?'

She ran a hand over her hair, although there was nothing to smooth as it was all tied back anyway. She bit her lip and kept her eyes trained forward. 'Yes and I trust him, but that does not mean I'm not worried,' she said quietly. Cassy sighed loudly, pushing open the double doors to the Hospital wing. 'I'm not used to being worried.'

Neville offered a small smile, one which she returned awkwardly.

'I thought we were past those smiles,' he laughed.

She gave a wider one, cocking her head to one side.

'Since when were you so mature?' she said, unable to help thinking their roles had been reversed as she had always comforted the nervous boy, not the other way around.

Neville grinned and hoisted himself onto one of the beds. 'Since I got hit in the head by a marble horse, apparently.'

'Marble horse?' came another voice.

They whipped around – far too fast, in Neville's case- to see Madam Pomfrey striding towards them, wrapping a white dressing gown around her as she did. 'Why are you two out of bed?Whatever do you – Mr. Longbottom, what happened to your face?'

'He got hit by a marble horse,' said Cassy airily, catching Neville's eye before he turned away to hide his smile.

Madam Pomfrey rounded on her with a scowl, but as she had no visible injuries, her attention was quickly diverted back to Neville. She lifted his chin up with one hand and pushed his blond hair back with the other.

'That's quite a cut, Longbottom, it's a wonder you're conscious.'

She did not ask what happened again, too absorbed in treating his injuries than finding out exactly how it had came about. No mercy was given to Neville as he winced or hissed as she tugged the skin or disinfected it with foul, sharp smelling liquid. She had finished cleaning and dressing the wound when the doors opened again and Professor Dumbledore came into view.

'Sir!' Cassy and Neville chorused. They spotted something in his arms, hanging like a dead weight in his arms at the same moment and cried 'Harry!' while rushing towards them both.

Madam Pomfrey pushed them back, hovering at his side as the Headmaster laid Harry on the nearest bed. His face was ashen and his hands greyed, covered in a light substance that Cassy thought she recognised. She did not dwell on it, however, as Harry's head lolled to the side and his shoulders sagged, completely limp.

'Albus, oh, what happened, Albus?' Madam Pomfrey muttered, waving her wand over Harry in various places across his body.

'The stone, I am afraid, was under threat tonight by none other than Voldemort himself.' Professor Dumbledore spoke gravely, his figure hunching slightly and the brilliant light that occupied his eyes was gone. For the first time since they had first seen him, he finally looked as frail and as withered as his age suggested he should be.

The woman blanched, turning to look at the other in utter horror. She remembered herself quickly though and returned to checking Harry.

'If young Harry here -and his friends- had not been so quick to defend it, I fear he may have succeeded tonight.'

Professor Dumbledore gazed at Cassy and Neville, who looked pale and tired, but did not show any signs of resting. They looked back at him, troubled and questioningly, waiting for him to continue, but he did not. Instead, he stared at them, as if only really taking in their appearance for the first time that night.

'I think it is best,' he said slowly, 'if the both of you spend the night here. Let me get you a sleeping draught each. I assume you keep them in the back room as always, Poppy?'

Madam Pomfrey muttered in confirmation, not lifting her eyes from Harry, allowing Professor Dumbledore to help himself. As he turned, Cassy called to him.

'Sir, what happened to the Stone? Is it safe?'

'Yes, yes, do not worry about that. Voldemort was unable to get it, Harry saw to that.'

'Will Harry be okay?' asked Neville. 'We won't sleep until we know he'll be fine.'

'Mr. Potter will live to see another day, do not worry about that,' he assured, but with little effect.

'We will not sleep until Madam Pomfrey is done with her treatment, no matter how long it takes,' insisted Cassy firmly, with Neville nodding by her side.

Professor Dumbledore looked between them and they expected him to reprimand them, but he merely smiled.

'Very well,' he said. 'Take a seat, I expect your feet will be aching.'

They both hoisted themselves onto a bed two down from Harry's, sitting side by side and watching Madam Pomfrey make notes into a scrap piece of parchment.

The scatching was only muffled by the shuffling of Professor Dumbledore as he travelled back from the store room. 'Here we are.' The pearly-white potions were given to them and remained clutched in their hands, but never reached their mouths. They both offered a quiet 'Thank-you'. Professor Dumbledore then seated himself next to them on the bed, folding him hand in his lap. 'What you three did was very brave, very foolish, perhaps, but so, so brave.'

'...In the forest, that night we had detention, Harry told us he saw Voldemort under the cloak. He just saw him in the forest and then it all made sense, the Stone and the troll attack. To stand by and let someone like that have an opportunity to gained immortality...well, we decided we would all rather die trying,' said Cassy, quietly. She avoided looking at them, already feeling the other's gaze upon her as soon as she opened her mouth.

'That is very noble, but your lives are not something to be thrown away easily, Miss Black.'

'My friends are all I really have, Sir. I would follow them to Hades and back, if I must.'

'And Harry would have gone without us, he would have gone no matter what he said. We had to go because he was right,' added Neville, 'and nobody would believe us, even though we knew we were right. But then... I think we would have gone even if he was wrong. It didn't seem right to just watch him go.'

They were not really sure what they were saying any more, content in spouting whatever came to mind and tumbling out thoughts and feelings they had never tried to put into words before. Yet, Headmaster Dumbledore did not seem to mind. He watched them with a smile, his eyes twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles.

'There are men many times older than you, who are more clouded in judgement and call themselves wise,' he said. 'Harry is lucky to have you both. I wish things were as simple as you see them, but I am afraid I am far too old. However, once in a while, I suppose it would not hurt to try.'

He stood, still smiling and bid them good-night.

'Good-night, Sir,' they replied, watching him leave, before looking back to see Madam Pomfrey setting down a vale of blue liquid. She turned to them after loading up the pewter tray.

'Now, off to bed, both of you,' she ordered. Potter will be fine, probably just sore and confused when he wakes.'

They both slipped off the bed, Cassy moving one forward while Neville walked around to Harry's other side. Removing their shoes, downing the potions and ignoring the matron's tut, they settled into bed and drifted off as soon as their heads hit the pillow.

Cassy did not dream that night. When she awoke, the sun was beaming in through the large, arching windows, making the metal surfaces unbearably bright. She blinked several times, trying to ignore the glare from the metal bedstead and sat up, running a hand over the back of her hair, only to realise she had not taken it down before sleeping. With a sigh, she undid the high pony tail and quickly redid it, giving herself time to look around at the other occupants.

Harry was still in the same position he had been last night, appearing not to have moved at all in the night, whereas Neville was laying on his front, arm dangling over the edge. At the sight, Cassy smiled. She pulled out the long chain from under her school shirt and looked at the tiny clock face. They had missed breakfast by almost two hours.

She sighed and edged down to the foot of the bed. From there, she had a fair view out the main window to the grounds and -as it was- a fair view of the Quidditch game that was currently under-way.

'Oh dear,' she breathed, more amused than in genuine discontent, 'it seems we will not win the house cup after all. Gryffindor cannot win without their seeker.'

She turned to look at Harry and then back at the game. The distance was too far to make out any particular players, or even which team they were on, but she assumed the end most of the dots were on was the Gryffindor end. They were definitely losing.

There was a low, muffled sigh, signalling Neville was awake. He pushed his head up, eyes squinting and he looked around.

'Good-morning,' Cassy greeted.

'Morning.' He stretched, then raised one hand to his head, rubbing the back of it gently. 'My head's killing me. I know I got hit in the front, but why does the back hurt so bad?'

Cassy's eyes widened briefly, but Neville did not see.

'It must have been how you landed,' she said nonchalantly.

Neville nodded, accepting it easily. His fingers moved towards the front, running lightly over the bandages before settling them down into his lap. They sat in silence, occasionally hearing the roaring cheers from the Quidditch match, or the scraping of Madam Pomfrey's chair in the next room. Neither felt the need to talk, more than content to simply sit and think, to mull over the past day, the past year and everything that had happened. They thought of everything that lead up to this moment and Cassy was ashamed to say she was slightly pleased about it all.

Their thoughts were interrupted by Madam Pomfrey exiting her office with another tray of brightly coloured liquid. She placed them down on Harry's bedside table, before swooping around to Neville. With her wand lit with Lumos, she brought it to Neville's eyes.

'Your reactions are perfectly fine, you are free to go. Keep that bandage on for now, come and see me tomorrow and I will see whether it can be removed.' She then turned her back to him and focused on Harry.

Cassy and Neville left silently, wandering down the empty corridors and back up to an equally empty common room. They went up to their individual dormitories, showering and changing into other clothing, then returning to sit in front of the unlit fireplace.

'I'm hungry,' Neville whined, placing a hand over his stomach. They had not eaten much the previous dinner, too wound up to try and they were feeling it now.

'As am I, but we will have to wait for lunch. And even then, lunch is served late on Quidditch days.'

Neville groaned and flung his head back. 'I wish we could just go the the kitchens ourselves.'

Cassy's eyes lit up, thinking back to the Marauder's map.

Surely, if that shows everywhere and everyone, it must show the kitchens, she thought, mentally logging a need to speak to Fred and George next year about borrowing it. A smirk rose to her lips as she knew it would not be that simple, but she was rather looking forward to the challenge.

Time passed slowly and it seemed like forever before the Gryffindors were traipsing back into the common room. There was no cheering and no roars of victory as there had been all year because without their seeker, they stood no chance. Ravenclaw had won easily with the points awarded for catching the Snitch and with that loss also came the loss of the house cup and any chance Gryffindor had of overtaking Slytherin.

'We were so close,' Dean moaned as he collapsed beside Cassy on the sofa. 'If we had just won this game then we would have won the House cup and beaten them.'

'Yeah, what happened to you all anyway? We were told you were all in the hospital wing,' Finnigan said, eyeing the pair curiously.

'We cannot possibly say,' said Cassy dismissively. 'It is not our place to.'

'Making it a secret only makes it worse, you know. There are rumours going around that you went into the Forbidden corridor and got mauled by a monster,' he joked.

'No quite,' she replied, amused. It was close enough, though and too close for them to feel comfortable continuing it. 'How was the game exactly? Was it close before the Snitch was caught or not?'

The first years who were present launched into a story of the game, dramatically recalling each movement the team made and commenting feverishly on each supposed uncalled foul the Ravenclaw team had made. Through it, Cassy and Neville allowed themselves to relax and engage, enjoying the return to normality and the chance to disengage from their thoughts.

Cassy and Neville visited Harry twice a day over the next two days he was unconscious. Many others had too, for he had gathered a large pile of sweets at the foot of his bed and, temporarily, a toilet seat, from well wishers and fans.

The doors were closed and would remain closed until the Headmaster was finished with his visit, one Cassy was not pleased about being ejected for. They waited patiently, however, for the better part of half an hour before the doors opened again and he emerged, smiling gently at them both.

'Ah, still here I see. Mr. Potter is awake now, although, I am not sure if Madam Pomfrey will allow you to see him. He needs rest.'

'We won't be a bother,' insisted Neville. 'We just want to see him.'

Professor Dumbledore smiled again and waved as he wordlessly continued down the corridor.

It was another five minutes before Madam Pomfrey stuck her head around the door.

'Five minutes!' she said. 'That's all.' They pushed past her, ignoring the grunt of displeasure she gave before turning to shut the door.

'Harry!' they chorused, running up to his bedside and grinding to a sudden halt before they tipped straight over it.

'Hey,' he grinned back.

He was still lying down, most likely under strict orders from the matron, looking slightly pale, but considerably better than he had when he had been brought in.

'How are you feeling?' asked Cassy.

'All right,' he smiled then looked at Neville. 'How's the head?'

'All right,' he mimicked, 'what's annoying is that it hurts at the front and the back.' As Neville rubbed his head, Harry's eyebrows rose. 'It must have been where I fell after being hit. It left a big bump.'

Harry opened his mouth in confusion, but quickly caught Cassy shaking her head and closed it again, instead offering a simple, 'Well, that's good then.'

Neville smiled and walked towards the end of Harry's bed to admire his gift collection, noting that several more boxes had been added since their last visit.

'Help yourself,' he said, before turning to Cassy, who lent in close. 'He landed on his side.'

'Accidents happen,' she whispered back.

Another grin broke out onto Harry's face. 'You dropped him, didn't you?'

'Of course not,' she replied tartly and straightened up, looking away with a small smile.

Harry laughed and shook his head.

Looking up at the sound, Neville rejoined, narrowing his eyes as they dismissed his query. As he and Cassy took seats at the end of Harry's bed, Neville opted to broach the subject of Quidditch and Harry's missed game.

'We won the Quidditch cup, we just lost the house cup,' he summed up.

Harry looked slightly irritated, but pleased all the same for they still half broke Slytherin's monopoly on victories. His smile slipped slightly as he looked between them.

'I've got to tell you what happened at the end,' he said quietly, aware they had already been with him far too long and that Madam Pomfrey could arrive at any moment to escort them out. 'It wasn't Snape, it was Quirrell. We've been suspecting the wrong person all the time.'

'Really?' gasped Neville. 'But... he seems so...'

'I know,' Harry said. 'It was all an act. The reason he always wears the turban is because under it is Voldemort's face.'

'What?' Neville cried, interrupting again and the look on Cassy's face said she was about to as well.

'Yeah, I know, just let me explain everything, all right? He unravelled the turban and Voldemort was latched onto the back of his head.

Quirrell was trying to get the Stone from the Mirror of Erised – which is where is had been moved to at Christmas. That was the final task. However, Voldemort told him to use me, and I realised something. The mirror shows you what you want more than anything and at that moment, I wanted nothing more that to find the Stone. So, I knew it would show me were it was hidden and it did. I saw myself placing it into my pocket and when I touched it... it was there. I got the Stone from the mirror, because I wanted it, but I didn't want to use it.

Voldemort realised and attacked me... but something happened when Quirrell touched me... he began to burn.'

'Burn?' muttered Cassy, connecting the dots in her mind. 'Literally burn?'

'Yeah, when he touched me, he turned to ash.'

That explains why he was covered in ash when he entered, Cassy thought, nodding at Harry.

'I grabbed his face trying to get him off me and I just... blacked out. Then I woke up here.'

'I'm glad you're alive, mate,' said Neville after a few moments of silence. He clapped Harry on the shoulder, earning a smile in response.

'Yeah, everything turned out all right, didn't it?' said Harry, grinning tiredly.

'If you exclude the part about almost dying, it had been a rather good year,' Cassy said, looking down at the bedsheets. It was true, to her at least, that the year had been far better than she had expected it to be. She had made two good friends and enjoyed her subjects well enough. Although she had lost Draco to Slytherin and Ronald disliked her as much as she did him, she regretted little and was almost saddened by its ending. She mentally dismissed that, for there was always next year and hopefully there would be less danger during that one.

'Yeah,' Harry said again, laughing. 'It has.'

The door to the office burst open and Madam Pomfrey came bustling out, shooing them with her hands, saying, 'Out, out. I gave you twenty minutes, far longer than I should have. Out now.'

They smiled, bidding Harry a quick farewell and forcing him to promise to meet them at the feast before allowing themselves to be pushed out of the room.

True to his word, Harry was seated between Cassy and Neville the next evening. They had gone to collect him earlier and managed to sneak him in with little fuss, although once seated, half of their house wanted to speak to him upon seeing him and it took a little longer than normal to quieten the boisterous table that evening.

Large, silver banners with curling, green serpents on them hung from the ceiling, four rows, one above each table and a giant one that hung behind the staff table were decorative symbols for Slytherin's victory. The house occupants themselves looked haughtier than usual, smirking to each other and to any other student that caught their eye, particularly Draco, as he looked over to where the three sat.

Cassy paid him no mind, humouring him with a small smile before turning back to the conversation Fred Weasley was having with them. However, she knew the exact scowl Draco would be wearing at that moment and she allowed her smile to broaden a little farther.

When Professor Dumbledore arrived, the hall quietened almost instantly, apart for several Gryffindor's who were still trying to talk to Harry and had to be shushed again. The Headmaster stood at the front of the room and clapped his hands together, beaming around the room.

'Another year gone already,' he said, loudly. 'I hope you have all had a fantastic year, where once again we say hello to a fresh batch of keen witches and wizards, and a sad good-bye to a group of brilliant young men and women. I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours.' He smiled at the seventh years on each table, many of them grinning back.

'Now,' he continued, 'we must move onto the results of the house cup. The points stand, as such, like this: in fourth place, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and fifty-two points; third, Ravenclaw with four hundred and twenty-six; Gryffindor with four hundred and finally, Slytherin, with four hundred and seventy-two points.'

A thunderous applause erupted from the Slytherin table, even though they knew they had a certain victory the moment Gryffindor lost the Quidditch match.

Harry slumped slightly upon seeing Draco banging his goblet onto the table in pure delight.

'Yes, well done Slytherin, well done. However,' Professor Dumbledore shouted over the roars, 'recent events must be accounted for and so, rewarded for.'

The smiles fell from the Slytherin's faces and many eyes swung to Harry.

'Some last minute points... Firstly, to Mr. Neville Longbottom, for utilising ones strengths, even when you don't believe you have any to aid your friends is a great asset, I award you forty points.'

The roar was deafening as half the table realised they had the potential to overtake Slytherin if they were to be awarded thirty-two more points. Most of them did not care where they came from, so long as they won.

'Secondly-' he called, silencing the room instantly, 'a cool mind can be used to slay your enemies, while a fiery heart can protect your friends, together they are truly formidable. For demonstrating such a notion, fifty points are awarded to Miss Cassiopeia Black.'

There was another applause, the house overwhelmed to be in a firm lead and all round pleased just to beat Slytherin. House-mates turned to her as well, clapping and shouting encouragement that she could not make out clearly through all the noise.

Cassy did not look over to Draco, although she wished to return the expression he had given only moments ago. She simply smiled at those near her and thanked them for their applause.

'Finally, to Mr. Harry Potter. For knowing right from wrong is simply not enough and having the nerve and courage to do something about injustice is something far too many people lack. So, I award you sixty points.'

'We won!' the table cheered, signalling the final points as an opportunity to celebrate. Dimly, Professor Dumbledore could be heard offering a change of decoration, which only made them cheer louder as the banners changed to gold and red, officially breaking Slytherin's winning streak. The loss was great for Draco, it seemed, as he wore an expression of utter devastation, which Harry had no problem celebrating over.

He grinned at Cassy and Neville, who beamed back at him as they tucked into dinner well earnt. The untameable atmosphere within Gryffindor stayed with the house the morning following, even when exam results were handed out. Many students were still too pleased about winning, to really feel disheartened by their results and breakfast turned out to be a follow on from the previous evening – if just to have one last jab at the Slytherin's before term ended.

'I don't understand how scores like that are even possible,' Neville said to Harry as they looked over Cassy's results.

'I didn't think you could get a hundred and twenty percent on a test,' mused Harry with raised eyebrows.

He had done well, far away from failing any subject, including Potions and History, which he was both delighted and astounded by. His Defence results were gleaming and he showed a certain element for Charms.

Neville's were better than he had expected. Studying with Cassy and Harry had certainly helped him and although he still did poorly in Potions, he excelled in Herbology enough to make up for it and his fear of repeating a year was proved pointless.

They passed the paper back to Cassy, who folded it into her skirt pocket before moving to step onto the train. She was halted by a familiar voice.

'Wait! Yeh three weren't trying to leave without sayin' good-bye, were yeh?'

'Hagrid,' Harry said warmly. 'Thank-you for the photo-album, I loved it.'

Cassy and Neville exchanged questioning looked behind his back.

'I'm glad,' beamed Hagrid. 'That's kind of why I'm here, actually. I thought yeh might want another picture to add to yer album.' He pulled out a camera from one of his many coat pockets and held it up to eye level. With his other hand, he motioned for them to move. 'C'mon, get closer now. Can't fit yer all in otherwise.'

The three looked at each other, huddling together and smiling widely into the lens. With a brilliant flash, the photograph was taken and a small, white square was ejected from the camera. Hagrid waved it back and forth for a moment in his hands, then looked at it, smiling.

'There yeh go,' he said, handing it to Harry. 'A nice picture, if I do say so myself.'

They looked down, seeing themselves smiling back up. Harry was wedged in the middle, with Cassy on his right and the taller form of Neville on his left. Harry looked back up at Hagrid.

'Thanks, it's brilliant.'

He nodded, blushing slightly as he waved towards the train, mumbling, 'Go on, the train'll be leavin' without yeh in a minute.'

Neville hopped on and Cassy followed him, waiting in the doorway as Harry hesitated, running back to hug Hagrid around the waist and thanked him again. They pulled the door shut, waving to him from the window as the Hogwarts express began to pull away. Once he was out of sight, they moved to their compartment that had been reserved by their luggage and copious amounts of sweets.

Harry stood on his seat, reaching into his trunk and pulling out a white book. He jumped down and motioned for Cassy to sit beside him as he moved closer to Neville, book in his lap. They spent the train ride looking through the album, pointing to various people and smiling as they waved and pulled faces back at them. Harry showed them his parents, but they were easy to spot, the resemblance too high for them not to be.

Lily Potter was a beautiful woman, with dark, auburn hair and bright green eyes, Harry's eyes, and a smile that resembled his in many ways. His hair was James Potter's, messy and thick. Neville quickly pointed out the poor eyesight he had also inherited, upon seeing his father's round framed glasses.

At the back of the book, after the photographs of his parents dancing and laughing together, of their wedding and their honeymoon, he placed the photograph of Cassy, Neville and himself. On the page opposite was an old one of Lily, James and him at a year old, centre and smiling.

* * *

**DONE! With Year One, anyway. The next year should begin next week or the week following. It will be under a new story - "CMBlack: Tongue of a Snake". So please watch out for that.**

**Thank-you for taking the time to read my story so far. I hope you'll like the rest of it! The next year should derail from the plot a little, but please give it a chance and tell me what you think.**


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